Vedanta plans trapped in pockets of protests
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 (Rs 300 billion).
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 (Rs 150 billion) 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 (Rs 400 billion) 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.
Image: Masami Ijima, COO, Mitsui, and Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Resources Plc. | Photograph, courtesy: Business Standard
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