Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and leader of J&K National Conference, Omar Abdullah, said “if Lithium extraction benefits J&K in terms of resources and revenues, then there is nothing like it.”
On being asked whether the discovery of Lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir is a good news or a cause of concern, Omar Abdullah told Financial Express Online, “Depends how sensible they (government) are with exploiting and to what extent it is benefitting Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, our experience with the water resources has not been great. Most of the power projects that have been built, have been built by central undertakings and electricity is exported from there. We hardly get anything.”
“If the Lithium is extracted and J&K benefits from it in terms of resources and revenues, then that’s fine, because we don’t have much. Other states have all sorts of resources, we are challenged in almost everyway, other than tourism which J&K attracts because of the beautiful valley. We have a small market, we have small resources because of the geographical difficulties,” Abdullah said.
Talking to FE Online, the former J&K CM said, “For any manufacturing industry to flourish in Kashmir, you have to bring in raw materials and take out the finished product, which makes the industry inherently unviable. So, if Lithium proves to be a resource, that we can exploit and it benefits the exchequer of Jammu and Kashmir, then there’s nothing like it and I won’t oppose it. Because at this time, we can’t even afford the salaries of government employees. But we have to sensible with how it is exploited.”
Also Read: Lithium reserves found in India for the first time
Back in February, Lithium reserves were discovered in Jammu and Kashmir. The discovery sparked excitement in India at the prospect of becoming a major player in the global market and weaning itself off imports, many of which come from geopolitical rival China. The find could give India the world’s seventh-largest identified reserves, behind Bolivia, Argentina, the US, Chile, Australia and China, according to the US Geological Survey.
In the Valley, some residents hope the discovery would lead to a brighter economic future. However, not everyone was enthusiastic. According to a Nikkei Asia report, some locals and experts expressed concern over potential displacement of residents and the risk of environmental degradation.
5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves were found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries.
“Geological Survey of India (GSI) for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Ministry of Mines had stated.
