NEW DELHI AlertNet) - The chief executive of the mining group Vedanta Resources on Thursday said a planned bauxite mine in India would benefit thousands of poor tribespeople, refuting regular accusations by rights groups.
Vedanta wants to mine bauxite for its alumina refinery in Orissa state, but the project has been mired in controversy since 2005. Activists say it will rob some of India's most vulnerable
people of their ancestral home and traditional way of life.
CEO Mahendra Mehta told AlertNet most of the rights activists opposing the mine were misinformed, adding that the poor who live
around the Niyamgiri Hills would benefit from more job opportunities and local development.
"There is a lack of awareness of the facts," Mehta said in a phone interview from the city of Udaipur. "No tribal or anyone lives in the mining area and no disturbance to their life or displacements will happen."
"The benefits of mining automatically and immediately go to the local people in the vicinity," he added.
Vedanta has in the past said it has the confidence of the indigenous people, but in October a British government agency said the company had failed to consult enough with one community likely to be affected.
India's Supreme Court approved the project in August 2008 after years of legal wrangling. Mehta said the rigorous process through which Vedanta won the court's approval showed fears from
activists and the local population were baseless.
Vedanta officials say they are now at the final hurdle of the project. Its subsidiary company Sterlite Industries, co-owned by the Orissa state government, will start mining once clearance is given by India's environment ministry.
SACRED MOUNTAIN
But groups like ActionAid say the hills are home to three of India's most vulnerable tribes - the Dongria Kondh, Kutia Kondh and the Jharania Kondh - which are supposed to be protected under the Indian constitution.
According to activists, about 8,000 people rely on the mountain, as springs provide water and its fruit and animals provide food. They also worship the Niyamgiri mountain in Orissa's Kalahandi district as their living god.
Mehta said the London-listed company planned to mine less than one percent of the mountain range, to produce one million tonnes of alumina annually.
"Some notions people have is that the whole hill will be destroyed. Those are misguided and misinformed notions," said Mehta.
The company has invested $22 million in development in the region such as providing nutrition to children and infrastructure and livelihood projects for the community, he said.
Officials say once mining begins, they will invest a further 5 percent of profits in community-based projects every year.
Former shareholders of Vedanta, the Norway Pension Fund and Edinburgh-based investment fund Martin Currie, have in recent years sold off their assets on ethical grounds, which activists
say proves their concerns are valid.
A representative of the Church of England, which holds a 2.5 million pound sterling ($4,100,000) stake in the company, is currently in Orissa to look at the company's mining plans.
"The company is always willing to have constructive dialogue with all share holders and explain the factual position," said Mehta. He refused to comment as to why shareholders had sold off assets.
(Editing by Matthias Williams)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
