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India: New Vedanta protests meet with violent “security” response

Richard — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:06:53 +0000

Forty seven Indigenous villagers from Rengopalli, Orissa, were violently arrested on 21 January, as they nonviolently protested against UK-listed Vedanta Resources. The company wanted access to the villagers’ ancestral land for its second “red mud pond”, destined to store toxic wastes from the Lanjigarh alumina refinery. Just two days earlier, Orissa’s High Court had rejected Vedanta’s application for a six-fold expansion of the plant’s capacity. The company sought to initiate a “fresh dialogue” with the Ministry of Environment, claiming this rejection was an act of “discrimation” against it.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11462&l=1.

Orissa High Court dashes Vedanta hopes to expand refinery

Richard — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:51:32 +0000

Vedanta Aluminium Ltd tried to get the High Court in the Indian State of Orissa to overturn its decision to stop expansion of the company’s Lanjigarh bauxite refinery. It failed.

See http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-19/bhubaneswar/30642318_1_review-petition-vedanta-aluminum-alumina-refinery.…
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Indian officials accused of conniving with Vedanta to avoid water penalties

Richard — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:27:43 +0000

It’s nothing new for UK-listed Vedanta Resources to be accused (or found guilty) of committing illegal acts – something that’s happened on many occasions since the Indian-focused company listed on the London Stock Exchange seven years ago this month.

Now, a civil society organization (Odisha Water Initiatives – OWI) which pledges to protect water supplies for the people of Orissa (Odisha), provided evidence of numerous instances where the company illegally extracted water from rivers and reservoirs.

But, even when fined for these violations, the company failed to pay the penalties – now amounting to some US$2 million.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11395.

Vedanta’s refinery expansion plan suffers another setback

Richard — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:23:25 +0000

Vedanta has suffered another setback in its fight-back to expand the aluminium refinery in Orissa after the Union environment ministry had struck down its environment clearance for violations.

The Cuttack bench of the Orissa High Court backed the environment ministry and ordered that Vedanta would have to apply afresh for a clearance for expansion if it wants to.

See http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-17/india/30168402_1_bauxite-mining-project-environment-clearance-vedanta.

Amnesty International refutes Vedanta’s claims

Richard — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:48:53 +0000

In July 2011, Amnesty International issued a report, “Generalisations, omissions, assumptions: The failings of Vedanta’s Environmental Impact Assessments for its bauxite mine and alumina refinery in India’s state of Orissa”.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Vedanta to respond. Its response is available on the Business and Human Rights website.

Amnesty International then issued a follow-up statement.

See http://www.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/amnesty-rejoinder-vedanta-aug-2011.doc.

Vedanta AGM 27 July 2011

Richard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:06:42 +0000

photo: Kerima Mohideen

Vedanta bosses clash with protesters over pollution and human rights

Anger erupted inside and outside Vedanta’s annual meeting on Wednesday as campaigners protested against the mining company’s environmental and human rights record. The London Mining Network says Vedanta’s record has not markedly improved, with 26 fatalities at its mines reported last year and a waste dump in Goa overflowing this month. “As a result, millions of tonnes of mud and silt flooded into the [Goan] village of Mulgao, swamping farmland, choking rivers and threatening people’s livelihoods,” said an LMN spokesman. Vedanta has offered to compensate farmers.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/27/vedanta-protests-annual-meeting-pollution-human-rights?INTCMP=SRCH.

Vedanta faces angry protesters at AGM

India-focused miner Vedanta faced two hours of angry questioning on Wednesday, as its board was forced to defend the company against accusations from investors and pressure groups that it has repeatedly breached health and environmental rules. Pressure groups including Survival International, Amnesty International and others have long opposed a projected bauxite mine in India’s Orissa state, planned for an area considered sacred by indigenous people, as well as proposals to increase capacity at Vedanta’s Lanjigarh alumina refinery to 6 million tonnes per year from 1 million.

See http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL6E7IR2E220110727.

Protesters demand action against Vedanta

Shareholders of Vedanta Resources, a FTSE 100 company that has been embroiled in a row over its activities in India, were on Tuesday booed by protesters gathered outside the venue of its Annual General Meeting in Westminster. They called for its expulsion from India and an investigation into its trade practices and human rights record.

See http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2300115.ece

Read notes of the AGM from an eye witness.

photo: Kerima Mohideen

Vedanta may apply afresh for green nod

Richard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:09:41 +0000

Vedanta Aluminum Ltd may try to make a fresh proposal to obtain environmental clearance for the expansion plans at its aluminum unit in Lanjigarh, Orissa.

See http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/vedanta-may-apply-afresh-for-green-nod/443543/.…
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India: Vedanta Orissa projects ban must be upheld

Richard — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:28:00 +0000

Amnesty International press release, 24 July 2011

Ongoing attempts by UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources to overturn an Indian government decision blocking a proposed bauxite mine and expansion of an alumina refinery in Orissa should not be allowed to succeed, new report by Amnesty International says.

The report, Generalisations, Omissions, Assumptions, reveals that the company has failed to adequately consider the human impact of its proposed projects with an investment of US$ 1,7 billion in Orissa.

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/india-vedanta-orissa-projects-ban-must-be-upheld-2011-07-24.

Orissa high court rejects Vedanta refinery expansion

Richard — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:07:55 +0000

Amnesty International has urged the Indian authorities to order the immediate clean-up of an alumina refinery in the state of Orissa, following a high court decision to reject plans for its expansion by a subsidiary of the UK-based Vedanta Resources. The High Court of Orissa on Tuesday upheld the Indian government’s decision made in August 2010, to reject Vedanta Aluminium’s plans for the six-fold expansion of the Lanjigarh refinery, finding that the project violated the country’s environmental laws.

Vedanta Aluminium challenged the Ministry of Environment and Forest’s decision in the high court on November 2010.

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/orissa-high-court-rejects-vedanta-refinery-expansion-2011-07-19.

See also: Court rejects Vedanta plea for alumina refinery expansion, http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=108901.

Pollution from Vedanta’s Lanjigarh smelter leads to complaint

Richard — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:46:09 +0000

Andhra Pradesh government to approach Indian government over pollution due to Vedanta plant

Andhra Pradesh government has decided to approach the Centre with regard to the pollution of river Vamsadhara in Srikakulam district due to effluents from Vedanta aluminium factory in the neighbouring Orissa.

See http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_andhra-pradesh-govt-to-approach-centre-over-pollution-due-to-vedanta-plant_1561248.

India: Toxic sludge leak from Vedanta’s red mud pond threatens rural communities

Richard — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:54:06 +0000

Amnesty International has warned that thousands of families in the Indian state of Orissa are facing serious health risks during the imminent monsoon season following reports of leaks at the Vedanta Aluminium refinery’s main ‘red mud pond’, a vast reservoir of toxic residue. The organisation has obtained video footage taken by people living in the Lanjigarh area showing two recent serious breaches of the pond following heavy rains, with gushing liquid flowing onto nearby roads. An estimated four to five thousand people in 12 villages are threatened by the leaks, which could worsen during heavy monsoon rains.

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/india-toxic-sludge-leak-vedantas-red-mud-pond-threatens-rural-communities-2011-06-0

Vedanta – once more unto the breach!

Richard — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:53:37 +0000

Second red mud spill reported in Orissa

The Norwegian government seemed to have got it right when it dumped its holding in London-listed Vedanta in 2007, effectively damning the company as a “serial offender”. In late 2010 the company was found guilty of polluting a river in Zambia, just four years after it did almost exactly the same thing. Then, last week – and only a month after toxic wastes cascaded from a breach in its red mud pond at the Lanjigarh alumina refinery in Orissa – there’s been another, virtually copycat spill.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/10928.

See also video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_s6HhDAuAY.

Vedanta at Lanjigarh: developer or landgrabber?

Richard — Thu, 12 May 2011 09:48:53 +0000

Despite Vedanta’s roaring hoardings of ‘Mining Happiness’, forceful grabbing of adivasi land by the company in Lanjigarh has always been a burning issue. Adivasis had been knocking all possible doors for justice: from the local administration to various courts. Recently, responding to complaints by four adivasis of the Jagannathpur Mauja in Lanjigarh Tehsil, the National Human Rights Commission investigated the issue and identified 3.66 acres of land within the company’s premises that legally belong to adivasis. Following this, the administration has now imposed Section-144 on the land and has registered a case of land-grab against the company under Regulation Act-2. This is for the first time that Vedanta’s illegal land-grabbing activities has been ‘officially proved’.

See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwicLF7s1tE.

Red mud spill at Vedanta plant

Richard — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:18:04 +0000

The people surrounding the Vedanta Alumina Project at Lanjigarh narrowly avoided a disaster on 5th April 2011. A crack developed in the dam holding back the company’s toxic red mud waste pond after a 45 minute thunder shower at 1:00 PM on 5th April 2011. Because of the crack, poisonous red mud ran into the nearby water bodies and mixed up with the Bansadhara River flowing through this area. After 3 hours of discharge, the company managed to patch up the crack. The company also succeeded in suppressing news of the event.

See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_8Tp2skbNM.

Vedanta ramps up Lanjigarh alumina refinery to 75,000 tpm

Vedanta’s 1 million tpy Lanjigah refinery has seen alumina output jump by half in March after securing a steady supply of bauxite. “We have been producing alumina at an average of about 50,000-55,000 tonnes per month; we have now stepped up the production to 75,000 tonnes in March,” said a senior company official. Alumina output reached 75,185 tonnes in March at the refinery in Orissa state.

See http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/2800810/Channel/197818/Vedanta-ramps-up-Lanjigarh-alumina-refinery-to-75000-tpm.html.

Vedanta’s children are literally getting “peanuts”

Richard — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:44:46 +0000

It was once dubbed “Food for Work” by the Indian government.

Since 2005, its more sophisticated version – the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) – supposedly guarantees 100 days of manual employment for every poor household in the country’s rural areas “if demanded”.

Now, a report by Delhi-based Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) reveals that the majority of poor families in Orissa and Uttar Pradesh didn’t get even one day’s employment from the scheme last year. Moreover, associated public food distribution schemes, along with state benefits for the very poor, were virtually non-existent.

The report levels some of its strongest criticism against India’s richest private mining enterprise, London-listed Vedanta Resources plc. In recent years, the company has spared no effort in boasting of its feeding programme for young children living around its Lanjigarh alumina smelter complex in Orissa’s Kalahandi district. The programme has been consistently cited by Vedanta supremo, Anil Agarwal, to justify his company’s widespread despoliation of the area. But, according to CEFS, this so-called Integrated Child Development scheme (ISDS) “is only peanuts, literally and figuratively both.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10818.