Vedanta Alumina limited (VAl) on Monday hoped to receive bauxite from the State Government to run its lanjigarh refinery plant in Kalahandi district at full capacity.
Stating that the refinery has resumed operations at a reduced capacity, VAl Chief Operating Officer Mukesh Kumar said, “We hope the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s report will be positive” and the raw material supply would be according to its recommendation.
Mukesh Kumar told mediapersons here after meeting Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra that the VAl is now running the lanjigarh plant at 80 per cent of the capacity.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee has submitted its report to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for a long-term policy for raw materials supply to local industries. The VAl, citing lack of raw material, had shut its refinery on December 5 last year.
However, Mukesh Kumar avoided a question on the ongoing Palli Sabhas in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts that will decide the fate of the VAl’s proposed bauxite mining project at the Niyamgiri Hills. He said, “It is not desirable on my part to comment on the conducting of Palli Sabha.”