June 30 （Bloomberg） -- India’s government formed a new panel to investigate the potential impact of mining on local tribes and wildlife in the eastern state of Orissa, where Vedanta Resources Plc hopes to develop bauxite reserves.
The four-member committee will further examine the “specific impact on the livelihood, culture and material welfare” of a tribal group living in the area and the region’s biodiversity, the Ministry of Environment and Forests said in a statement in New Delhi.
Vedanta’s proposal to mine in the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa has been delayed for more than four years by opposition from tribal communities and concerns about possible long-term damage to the environment. The company is awaiting government approval to begin mining.
Vedanta officials in India were not immediately available for comment.
Prime Minister’s Manmohan Singh’s office has asked the environment ministry to clear the mining project after a panel of experts examines the plan, the Economic Times reported yesterday, citing an unidentified government official.
The company’s unit, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd., plans to use bauxite from the proposed mine to run its alumina refinery in that region. The mine will help Vedanta Aluminium, which produced 762,000 metric tons of alumina in the year ended March 31, reduce its raw material costs. Aluminum is made from alumina refined from bauxite.
The panel will review all previous reports relating to the use of forest land for mining in the Orissa districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada, the statement said. The committee will give its findings within 30 days of its formation.
(sourced from Bloomberg)
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