Vedanta seeks bauxite supply for lanjigarh plant

The Vedanta Aluminium ltd (VAl) on Saturday sought supply of bauxite to run its 1-mtpa refinery plant at lanjigarh in Kalahandi district that has been shut down since December 5 last due to want of the raw material.

"We shall be grateful if some urgent action is taken for ensuring bauxite supply to the plant as agreed in the MoU between the Government of Odisha and VAl on June 7, 2003 and amendment thereto on April 4, 2007 so that the plant can resume operation at the earliest," VAl president and COO Mukesh Kumar said in a letter to Odisha's Steel and Mines Secretary.

He said the issue was also raised before the Ministerial Committee on minerals supply to local industries on February 15 this year. "Closure of the plant has impacted the overall economy of the region as thousands of people have become jobless, he pointed out."

Kumar's letter to the Government came after local people of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts submitted petitions to authorities demanding reopening of 

the refinery. 

The affected people are also planning to meet Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in this regard. Earlier, the VAl had argued that it located the refinery at lanjigarh keeping in view the abundance of bauxite in and around the area.

"However, the irony is that the refinery has been closed due to lack of bauxite," a senior executive of the company said, adding the VAl's application for alternative sources of bauxite reserve has also not been processed by the State Government.