Vedanta plans trapped in pockets of protests

Business Standard, 4th Spetember, 2008

The Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group has made substantial headway in land acquisition for its three projects in Orissa which entail a combined investment of over Rs 30,000 crore.
The group needed 11,700 acres for its university at Puri, an alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, and its smelter and power project at Bharkhamunda near Jharsuguda. It has already acquired about 7,515 acres.
The total land needed for the Rs 15,000-crore university is 6,000 acres. The company has to date acquired 3,155 acres and taken possession of 2256.49 acres, which includes 385.15 acres of government land and 1871.34 acres of private land.
Though the company claims to have acquired more than 50 per cent of the land needed, local resistance continues to obstruct the start of the project.
The company is, however, in a better position as far as land acquisition for its other two projects are concerned. Vedanta Aluminium has acquired the 2,000 acres it needed in Lanjigarh in the economically-backward Kalahandi district for its one-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA), Rs 4,000-crore alumina refinery. Besides, it has got 80 per cent of the 200 acres needed for a rail corridor for the project.
“About 80 per cent of the 200 acres needed for the railway link has been acquired. We hope to complete the process very soon”, said Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer, Vedanta Aluminium.
In a relief to the company, the Supreme Court recently cleared the diversion of 660.749 hectares of forest land for mining bauxite in Niyamgiri hills in the Kalahandi district.
While the mining plan has been approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines, the company hopes to start operating the mine in the next four-six months. However, it will have to get clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The problems of the company are, however, far from over. The green activists have decided to intensify the agitation against mining in Niyamgiri.
A state-level mass convention is being organised by the Lok Shakti Abhiyan in Bhubaneswar on September 10 to protest against the Supreme Court judgements on Niyamgiri and Posco. “The activists will gather to decide the next course of action,” said Prafulla Samantara, the Lok Shakti Abhijan leader.
The company also faces strong resistance against the Rs 15,000-crore university being set up by the Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) near Puri.
The opponents have said the project is planned over fertile agricultural land which yields two-three crops annually. Further, the project is likely to interfere with the recharge of sweet water. The company’s plan to set up a 30-Mw power plant there is opposed by the locals on the ground that it is likely to pollute their environment