Vedanta Resources is willing to relocate a controversial mine planned on land considered sacred by tribal groups in India, the company’s boss was quoted as saying yesterday.
Vedanta’s plans suffered a blow this week when a report commissioned by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests said the company’s planned project in the state of Orissa would threaten the “very survival” of the 8,000-strong Dongria Kondh tribe.
“We are willing to look at alternate locations,” Anil Agarwal, the billionaire chairman of Vedanta Resources, was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times.
“Without the requisite approvals and clearances, we will not even move an inch,” he added.
Vedanta, India’s second-largest aluminum producer, wants the proposed mine to secure a supply of bauxite needed for its nearby aluminum refinery.
The ministry’s report said that going ahead with the mine in Orissa’s remote Niyamgiri Hill range would have a huge environmental impact.
The mine would “drastically alter” the region’s water supplies, affecting ecological systems and communities, the report said.
It also declared Vedanta was in “illegal occupation” of 26 hectares of land in the area and called it “an act of total contempt for the law.”
Vedanta has said it follows all government procedures, insisting the refinery and mine will help alleviate poverty in the deeply deprived region by providing jobs, healthcare, education and midday feeding schemes to locals.
However, the tribal population and social activist groups including Amnesty International, ActionAid and Survival International have become vocal campaigners against the project.
The Dongria Kondh tribespeople believe the lush hills are the home of their god Niyam Raja and depend on the land for their crops and livelihood.
Many investors such as the Church of England have attacked the company and sold off their shares to protest the planned mine.
The ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee is due to meet tomorrow to consider the report’s recommendations and then submit its views to Indian Minister of State of the Ministry of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, after which a final decision will be taken.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS