The New Indian Express, Sept 12, 2012
Fearing loss of jobs in the event of closure of the Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), a delegation of employees of the refinery submitted a memorandum to the District Collector on Tuesday. They also staged a demonstration at the collectorate.
Facing acute shortage of raw materials to run its one MTPA refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, VAL had sent a three- month closure notice on the matter to the State Government last week seeking temporary closure of the refinery from December 5.
VAL had signed a memorandum of understanding with the State-run Odisha Mining Corporation for the supply of 150 million tonnes (MT) of bauxite, which included 78 MT reserves from the Niyamgiri hills. While bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills was prohibited by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, there was no attempt by the government to supply bauxite from other sources. Although VAL invested Rs 5,000 crore in the Lanjigarh plant till date, it incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore during the past five years.
The employees in their memorandum stated that closure of the plant is expected to affect the livelihood of over 6,000 people, including 550 employed directly, 5,000 engaged indirectly and 1,000 self-employed in and around the plant. The company spent over Rs 100 crore on the development of the local area and community and had recently set up Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation. They demanded intervention of the State Government to safeguard the interests of thousands of workers and locals who will be affected in the wake of VAL closure.
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