Economic Times, Jan 22, 2013
NAGESHWAR PATNAIK,ET BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR: Vedanta Aluminium (VAL), a unit of Vedanta Resources, will have to wait for two more weeks after the Supreme Court on Monday deferred the hearing on Niyamgiri bauxite mines in Odisha's Kalahandi district. The apex court deferred hearing for two weeks due to non-submission of affidavit by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).
The ministry has sought two weeks time to submit its affidavit pertaining to the bauxite mining of Niyamgiri hills. The state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) had moved the Supreme Court in March 2011, protesting the ministry's withdrawals of regulatory clearances to Niyamgiri.
On August 24, 2010, the MoEF withdrew the Stage II forest clearance for mining bauxite and temporarily withdrew the Stage I clearance after the NC Saxena panel recommended that mining in Niyamgiri would severely affect the ecology as well as the primitive tribal group of Dongria Kondhs, living on the mountain slopes. It also withdrew the earlier permission given to Vedanta for expansion of its 1 MT alumina refinery to 6 MT at Lanjigarh block of Kalahandi.
The court was to hear on OMC's application on Monday. The apex court has asked both the state and the Centre to submit affidavits on the implementation of the Forest Conservation Act in the mining area, sources in OMC said.
In 2008, the Apex Court had given permission to Sterlite India Company of the Vedanta Group for diversion of 660 hectares of forest land of Niyamgiri Hills. But the MoEF had refused stage-II forest clearance for bauxite mining on August 24, 2010, from the Niyamgiri hills, following allegations against VAL for violating the Forest Rights Act in the area.
The SC hearing is significant for VAL as it shut down its Lanjigarh refinery on December 5, citing shortage of bauxite. As per the MoU with VAL, OMC is supposed to supply up to 150 million tonne of bauxite for Lanjigarh Refinery from Niyamgiri and other adjoining bauxite deposits.
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