SME Times News Bureau | 31 Jul, 2014
Vedanta's capacity expansion plan for its Odisha alumina
refinery got a boost Wednesday when most local villagers supported it at a
public hearing but an anti-Vedanta leader termed it illegal.
Vedanta plans to expand six-fold the capacity of its one-million-tonne per
annum alumina refinery in the state.
The state pollution control board successfully conducted a public hearing near
Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, about 600 km from Bhubaneswar.
The majority of the 1,500 to 2,000 people from nearby villages who participated
in the public hearing supported the project and said they have no objection to
the expansion, district collector Bijaya Ketan Upadhyaya told IANS.
He said the local authorities will send the proceedings of the public hearing
to the state government which will forward it to the central government for
final approval.
The union environment ministry had in August 2010 issued a show-cause notice to
the company under the Environment Protection Act for undertaking construction
without prior clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification,
2006.
After examining the company's response in the matter, the ministry in October
2010 cancelled the terms of reference issued in 2009.
The ministry then directed the company to maintain status quo at the site and
asked it to ensure that no further construction was undertaken for expansion of
the project.
The ministry asked the company to furnish a fresh proposal to obtain
environmental clearance for the proposed expansion.
The public hearing was held following the ministry's direction on a fresh
application submitted by the company.
A company spokesman said the development demonstrated that the villagers want
the plant in their region.
Anti-Vedanta movement leader Lingaraj Azad, however, termed the public hearing
illegal. "Not all people of the villages situated close by were informed
about the public hearing," he told IANS.
"Several villagers were also not allowed to present their views, as a
result the public hearing was marred by protests. There was also no voting at
the end," he added.