The Orissa government is in no hurry to allot alternative mines to Vedanta Resources even though the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) has denied access to bauxite reserves in Niyamgiri hills of Kalahandi district.
?There is no hurry on the part of the state government to allot alternative mines to Vedanta,? said state steel and mines minister Raghunath Mohanty. The company has not applied for any new mines after denial of the permission to Niyamgiri mines, he said.
The state directorate of geology has discovered eight new mines with a total reserve of 12.28 million tonne in undivided Koraput district in 2009-10. With this, the total bauxite reserve in the state has gone up to 1,805.81 mt, which is 54.89% of the total reserve of the country.
Vedanta has applied for smaller mines located in about 10 km radius of its 1 mt per annum (MTPA) Lanjigar refinery. While the company is the sole applicant for the Siadimal mines in Rayagada district, it has applied along with others in 2006-07 for five mines: Mali Padar-Kuta Mala-Sarambhai, Bada Malibhat, Kuta Mala(Kasipur in Rayagada district), Kuta Mala (in Kalahandi district), and Ranapur in Taipada. It has also applied along with others in 2003 for Karlapat, Punjam (Kalahandi district) and Gilagoan mines.
The minister said it will be difficult for Vedanta to get prospecting licence (PL) or mining lease of any bauxite mines in Orissa in the near future. ?Vedanta will have to wait for long to get raw material from the state,? he said.
Since there are multiple applications, Mohanty said the government has to conduct hearing before rejecting the applications of other claimants for the mines. Referring to the Siadimal mines, where the Vedanta is the sole applicant, the minister said. The mine, spreading over 4.95 hectares, promises a small reserve of 2 million tonne.