Orissa govt may move SC or approach PM

After Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh showed a red card to Vedanta Aluminium’s plan to mine Niyamgiri Hills in south Orissa, the state government can approach the Supreme Court, challenging the ministry’s order, or seek the Prime Minister’s intervention.

It is the state government, not Vedanta, which has to seek redressal on the setback from the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ (MoEF’s) decision on Niyamgiri, as the lease for the 75-million tonne bauxite deposit there is owned by state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC).

“The MoEF may have slammed the door on Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mining project, but all hopes are not lost. There are options of moving the Supreme Court or approaching the Prime Minister on the issue,” said Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and one of the closest aides of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

For the state government, filing an appeal in the apex court seems to be a workable and justifiable option, as it has reiterated that whatever has been done in connection with the bauxite mining project is according to the directives of the court.

Naveen Patnaik, who had called on Jairam Ramesh yesterday, had categorically said the state government had complied with all conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, pertaining to the proposed bauxite mining project.

Moreover, U N Behera, principal secretary (environment and forest), Orissa, met the environment minister today morning to present the state government’s response to the allegations raised by the four-member Saxena committee, pertaining to the proposed bauxite mining project of Vedanta Aluminium.

A delegation of officers, led by Behera, challenged the Saxena committee report on five grounds — impact of hill-top mining on aquifers, impact of mining on vegetation and bio-diversity, impact of mining on wildlife, customary rights of the primitive tribal groups and the role of the gram sabha and other procedural issues, relating to the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.