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Amnesty petition on Vedanta

Richard — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:13:15 +0000

London-based Vedanta Resources, through its subsidiary companies, plans to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills, considered sacred by the Indigenous Dongria Kondh community. The proposed mine will threaten the community’s rights to water, food, health and work. Local communities in nearby Lanjigarh, whose farmlands were acquired for Vedanta’s alumina refinery in 2003, are struggling to protect their livelihoods while contamination of their water sources and dust emissions pose serious risks to their health. Vedanta has ignored these risks and is now planning a six-fold expansion of its alumina refinery. Vedanta has failed to provide full information and to adequately consult with local communities about its mining and refinery-expansion plans. Final permission for the projects is pending with the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests. The people of Lanjigarh and Niyamgiri have been protesting against Vedanta’s attempts to willfully ignore their human rights.

Please support their struggle by signing the petition at:

http://www.protectthehuman.com/petition_actions/protect-rights-of-communities-in-orissa.

[Amnesty will submit your signatures to Vedanta Resources at their 2010 Annual General Meeting.]

Vedanta petition

Richard — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:20:20 +0000

A number of people concerned about Vedanta’s operations around the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa have drawn up a petition to the company’s investors, asking them to disinvest.

See http://www.PetitionOnline.com/vedanta2/petition.html.…
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Further coverage of Vedanta disaster

Richard — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:16:58 +0000

Vedanta under scrutiny as 100 feared dead at aluminium plant

The safety policies of the London-listed mining giant Vedanta Resources are set to come under scrutiny after an accident at one of its sites in India killed as many as 100 people on Wednesday. The group has already been blacklisted by some investors over ethical and environmental concerns.

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/vedanta-under-scrutiny-as-100-feared-dead-at-aluminium-plant-1792876.html.

Legal scanner on Balco chimney

The Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) did not have the required permission to construct the chimney for its power plant that collapsed yesterday killing at least 25 people. The company had earlier constructed one chimney for its 1200-Mw power plant coming up in the aluminium complex in Korba. This was the second chimney for the plant and the aluminium major was constructing it without the required permission from the civic authorities. See:

See http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/legal-scannerbalco-chimney/371143/.

Firm’s bosses arrested as death toll mounts in India

Thirty-six workers are known to have died in the collapse of a giant chimney being built in India, but the toll is expected to rise as clearing continues. Two executives of the construction client, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, have reportedly been arrested as the local government launches an investigation. A state inquiry into the accident has been launched.

See http://www.ciobinternational.org/news/view/1628.

Vedanta petition
A number of people concerned about Vedanta’s operations in Orissa have drawn up a petition to the company’s investors, asking them to disinvest. See http://www.PetitionOnline.com/vedanta2/petition.html.

Goa: Sky’s the limit as court rules against Vedanta

Richard — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:00:19 +0000

A nine-year old boy recently filed a public interest petition against the “unsafe” mining activities of India’s biggest mining company – UK-listed Vedanta Resources plc. Akaash Naik was backed by Claude Alvares, the highly-esteemed director of the Goa Foundation. Last week, he met with some success: Bombay’s High Court ruled that the company should halt its activities at two of its open pits.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9494.

Vedanta petition
A number of people concerned about Vedanta have drawn up a petition to the company’s investors, asking them to disinvest. See http://www.PetitionOnline.com/vedanta2/petition.html.