S Kalyana Ramanathan / London February 6, 2010, 0:49 IST
Withdraws investment over Orissa project.
Metals and mining major and Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta Resouces today received a moral blow to its proposed mining project in Orissa after the Church of England withdrew its investments in the company, citing ethical reasons for the decision.
This new report by Amnesty International documents how an alumina refinery operated by a subsidiary of Britain-based Vedanta Resources in Orissa is causing air and water pollution, that threatens the health of local people and their access to water.
ANIL Agarwal's Vedanta Aluminium (VAL) fears fresh trouble at its proposed bauxite mining site in Orissa. In a letter to the police superintendents of Rayagada and Kalahandi last week, Vedanta's COO-Lanjigarh, Mukesh Kumar said: "We are seeing increased movement of foreigners from various countries in the area.
New Delhi: An intervention by environment minister Jairam Ramesh on November 27 has had an unintended consequence on the contempt petition against advocate Prashant Bhushan: it has turned the focus on the anomaly of the Supreme Court pre-empting the government in granting forest clearance for the Vedanta mining project in Orissa.
While on one hand, the State government has virtually put the process on international airport in Goa on fast track, a mine owner on the other hand, has raised strong objection saying huge tracks of land under acquisition for the airport has vast deposits of bauxite.
The Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL), part of Vedanta Resources, has not violated any forest and environment norms at its alumina refinery and bauxite mining site in Kalahandi district of Orissa, according to a report of the state government.
While the refinery is at the foothill of Niyamgiri hills, the proposed mining site is at the top of the hill, 7 to 10 km away.
VEDANTA ALUMINIUM Ltd, part of the Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta Resources Plc, has got a major reprieve on Tuesday after the Kalahandi district collector, Mr R. Santha Gopalan, cleared the company of violating any government guidelines at Niyamgiri bauxite mines.
WITH the Centre hinting at alleged illegal bauxite mining at Niyamagiri hills by Vedanta, the Orissa government has asked the Kalahandi district administration to verify the truth behind it.
