STATE ASKS CENTRE FOR KARLAPAT BAUXITE MINE FOR OMC

The Pioneer, June 5, 2013

While dispatching its compliance of the requirements sought by the Union Ministry of Mines, the State Government on Monday stated that to ensure fair and equitable distribution of bauxite reserves so as to best serve the common public good, the Karlapat Bauxite Deposit in Kalahandi district needs to be reserved in favour of the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).

The Department of Steel & Mines wrote to the Union Ministry of Mines to communicate the approval of the Central Government in favour of the State-run OMC at an early date.

The State Government has asked for reservation over an area of 3,002 hectares out of the whole area of 3,113 hectares in Karlapat for the OMC, said a senior official in the Department of Steel and Mines.

The Union Ministry of Mines has sought in April this year some more clarifications from the State Government which had applied in December 2012 for reservation of the area having nearly 153 million tonnes (MT) of bauxite deposit in the OMC’s favour.

According to a survey conducted by the State’s Directorate of Geology (DoG), both North and South Karlapat reserves have a proven bauxite reserve of 64 MT and 88 MT, respectively, while probability of another 54 MT makes the possible estimation 207 MT, said a senior geologist.

Obtaining Mining Lease (ML) would be much faster once the deposit is reserved for the OMC as the area is already prospected, said an official.

Justifying the reasons for such reservation of bauxite deposit in favour of the OMC, the State Government has said that it would be in the interest of mineral conservation and prudent exploitation which woild ensure inter-generation equity as well.

While asking for reservation of the Karlapat deposits for 30 years for the OMC, the State Government has said that such an arrangement would help accrue more economic returns to the State by way of royalty, taxes and dividend. These funds would provide the much-needed impetus for developmental activities to be undertaken in the State, said the

official.

With aluminum projects crying for raw materials, the State Government has decided to exploit the bauxite deposit through its PSU, OMC, which has the expertise and manpower for mineral development, said the official.

This development assumes significance in the wake of the bauxite sourcing crisis forcing temporary shutdown of the Lanjigarh refinery of the Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) in Kalahandi district.

VAL, which has made an investment to the tune of `52,000 crore in the State, has been in dire need of raw material as bauxite sourcing from the Niyamgiri Hills reserve has run into rough weather with the continuing court cases following widespread protests from political parties and NGOs.

The State Government, which has entered into an agreement with VAL for bauxite sourcing, has been in search for alternative reserves.

As the process recommended by the Supreme Court in its April 18 judgement for clearing the deck for bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri Hills seems arduous, the State Government’s effort to fast-track exploitation of the Karlapat reserve would definitely ease the raw material deficiency confronted by VAL, said an expert.

Feeling disgusted over the role of outsiders and activists of foreign NGOs who have been instigating natives to protest against bauxite mining in Niyamgiri and industrialisation in its vicinity, a large number of people came out in a huge procession on Monday at Lanjigarh demanding an early reopening of the VAL refinery.