HC halts renewal of Sukinda mines' licence to Tata Steel

The Orissa High Court on June 11 ordered the state government to restrain from taking a decision on the grant or renewal of Tata Steel's mining licence for chromite mines in Sukinda in Jajpur district till June 19, the next hearing.

The Bench ordered Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA), the petitioner, to give one extra copy of the writ petition to the state government. The court also issued a notice to Tata Steel.

Spread over 406 hectares (including a contentious 106 acres of forestland), Tata Steel's chromite mines in Sukinda has one of the largest chrome ore reserves in Odisha, which holds 98 per cent of India's stainless steel raw material. Chrome ore is used to make ferro chrome, used in stainless steel production.

When Tata Steel sought a third renewal of the mines, other ferro alloy producers in the region, including IMFA, objected. IMFA said in the petition according to the approved mining plan of 2013, Tata Steel's requirement was 16 million tonnes (the mine has reserves of 85 million tonnes). A portion of mineral reserves should be allocated to actual users, said IMFA, including itself, Jindal Strips, Ispat Alloys and Farro Alloys Corporation.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said: "We have not received any formal communication from the state government. We have applied for the renewal which we believe is in the various stages of clearance."

Subhrakant Panda, managing director of IMFA, was not available for comment.