Green activists protest at Vedanta AGM

Vedanta's annual general meeting (AGM) last evening saw protests from different social and environmental groups opposed to the group's proposed mining project in Orissa in India.

Inside the AGM, some shareholders expressed their unhappiness with the mining by Vedanta in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills.

Vedanta tried to counter this by showing a power point presentation by Mukesh Kumar, the Chief Operating Officer of the Lanjigarh refinery, in which he made a number of claims about improvements in the quality of life of Dongria's since the arrival of Vedanta in their region.

Vedanta Resources group firm Sterlite Industries in joint venture with Orissa Mining Corporation proposes to mine bauxite from Orissa's Niyamgiri hills.

The proposed project still awaits final clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Vedanta Aluminium, another group firm of the London Stock Exchange listed firm, has been accused of violating green and tribal norms at the site of the project by national and international NGOs.