Vedanta Resources
Encyclopedia
Vedanta Resources plc is a global mining and metals company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and also has mining operations in Australia and Zambia. Its main products are copper, zinc
, aluminium, lead and iron ore. It is also developing commercial power stations in India in Orissa
(2,400 MW) and Punjab
(1,980 MW).
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
.
in 1976. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 2003 when it raised $876 million through an Initial Public Offering
. Meanwhile in 2006 it acquired Sterlite Gold, a gold mining business. It raised an additional $2bn through an ADR
issue in 2007. In 2008 it bought certain of the assets of Asarco
, a copper
mining
business, out of Chapter 11
for $2.6bn.
(India) Ltd.: Sterlite is registered office headquartered in Tuticorin, India. Sterlite has been a public listed company in India since 1988, and its equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and the BSE, and are also listed and traded on the NYSE in the form of ADSs. Vedanta owns 53.9% of Sterlite and have management control of the company.
Konkola Copper Mines
: Vedanta own 79.4% of KCM’s share capital and have management control of the company. KCM’s other shareholder is ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc. The Government of Zambia has a controlling stake in ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc.
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Pty Ltd.: CMT is headquartered in Queenstown, Tasmania. Sterlite owns 100.0% of CMT and has management control of the company.
Limited: HZL is headquartered in Udaipur in the State of Rajasthan. HZL’s equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. Sterlite owns 64.9% of the share capital in HZL and has management control. Sterlite has a call option to acquire the Government of India’s remaining ownership interest.
Ltd.: BALCO is headquartered at Korba in the State of Chhattisgarh. Sterlite owns 51.0% of the share capital of BALCO and has management control of the company. The Government of India owns the remaining 49.0%. Sterlite exercised an option to acquire the Government of India’s remaining ownership interest in BALCO in March 2004.
Vedanta Aluminium Ltd.: Vedanta Aluminium is headquartered in Jharsuguda, State of Orissa. Vedanta owns 70.5% of the share capital of Vedanta Aluminium and Sterlite owns the remaining 29.5% share capital of Vedanta Aluminium. Vedanta Aluminium produces ingots, billets & wire rods that are sold in the markets around the World.
Madras Aluminium Company Ltd.: MALCO is headquartered in Mettur, India. MALCO’s equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. They own 93.9% of MALCO’s share capital and have management control of the company.
Limited: Sesa Goa is headquartered in Panaji, India, and its equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. Vedanta owns 57.1% of Sesa and have management control of the company.
: Sterlite Energy is headquartered in Mumbai. Sterlite owns 100.0% of Sterlite Energy and has management control of the company.
and Amnesty International
, due to their operations in Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa
, India that are said to threaten the lives of the Dongria Kondh that populate this region. The Niyamgiri hills are also claimed to be an important wildlife habitat in Eastern Ghats of India as per a report by the Wildlife Institute of India as well as independent reports/studies carried out by civil society groups. In January 2009, thousands of locals formed a human chain around the hill in protest at the plans to start bauxite
mining in the area. The Union Environment Ministry in August 2010 rejected earlier clearances granted to a joint venture led by the Vedanta Group company Sterlite Industries for mining bauxite from Niyamgiri hills.
Vedanta's Alumina Refinery in Lanjigarh was critiqued by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (the statutory environmental regulation body) for air pollution and water pollution in the area. According to Amnesty International, local people reported dust from the plant settling on clothes, crops and food. An environmental impact assessment by the government found dust pollution was within acceptable limits. Vedanta officials claimed there was no dust pollution from the plant at all. An environmental inspection of the plant reported water pollution by the plant including increasing the pH value of the river Vamshadhara below the refinery and a high level of SPM in the stack emissions.
In October 2009 it was reported that the British Government has criticised Vedanta for its treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Orissa, India. The company refused to co-operate with the British Government and with an OECD investigation. They have rejected charges of environmental damage, saying it may be related to the increased use of fertiliser by farmers.
at the Balco smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh collapsed on 23 September 2009 killing at least 40 workers. Balco and GDCL management have been accused of negligence in the incident.
, public interest litigation
s were filed in 2004 by Indian non-government organisations led by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties to the Supreme Court sub-committee regarding the potential environmental impact of the mines. The Ministry of Environment and Forests received reports from expert organisations and has submitted its recommendations to the Supreme Court.
The sub-committee has found "blatant violations" of environmental regulations and grave concerns about the impact of the Niyamgiri mine on both the environment and the local tribal population. The committee recommended to the Court that mining in such an ecologically sensitive area should not be permitted.
Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal rejected allegations of maltreatment of locals. Agarwal said that the mining project at Niyamgiri has been approved by the Indian Supreme Court based on a process that included consultation with the locals carried out within the bounds of the law, attesting that the majority of the locals supported their industrial efforts. An anonymous official of Vedanta Resources blamed the NGO's attacking Vedanta of being funded by competing foreign mining corporations.
decided to disinvest from the company on ethical grounds. According to indigenous rights organization, Survival International
, the Church’s decision is extremely unusual, as it almost always prefers a policy of 'constructive engagement’ to disinvesting. The Church stated that "we are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect" and that "[it] would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy".
The Director of Survival International, Stephen Corry
, said, "The Church’s unprecedented and very welcome decision sends a strong signal to companies that trample on tribal peoples’ rights: we will not bankroll your abuses. Anybody that has shares in Vedanta should sell them today if they care about human rights."
Vedanta responded by expressing disappointment at the Church's actions, and that they are "fully committed to pursuing its investments in a responsible manner, respecting the environment and human rights".
The NGO Amnesty International
has also come to criticize the company's record on human rights. It has stated, "[I]t is clear that Vedanta Resources and its subsidiaries […] have failed to respect the human rights of the people of Lanjigarh and the Niyamgiri Hills." They add, "The proposed bauxite mine […] threatens the survival of a protected Indigenous community […] However, these risks have been largely ignored and consultation with and disclosure of information to affected communities have been almost non-existent."
Following this controversy, several shareholders have joined in selling their shares due to human rights concerns. This includes the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
, the Marlborough Ethical Fund, Millfield House Foundation and PGGM
. The British and Norwegian governments have both condemned the project, and Martin Currie Investments has also disinvested following pressure from Survival. The BP Pension Fund has reduced its shareholding over similar concerns. The Economic Times
criticized the project in their editoral, stating that if the mine goes ahead it will "impoverish a defenceless populace, perhaps to extinction." On July 2010, the Chief Secretary
of the Indian state of Orissa
has ordered a new investigation into the rights of the Dongria Kondh tribe affected by Vedanta Resources bauxite mine, in what Survival International characterized as a "third major blow to Vedanta in a month". The announcement came two weeks after the Indian Minister of Environment and Forests ordered an investigation on the same topic. A government investigation published in March concluded that Vedanta’s mine ‘may lead to the destruction of the Dongria Kondh’.
A four-member panel set up by Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests investigated the bauxite mining proposal over Niyamgiri near Lanjigarh in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada in Orissa. The area has been traditional habitat of two particularly vulnerable tribal groups, the Dongria Kondh and the Kutia Kondh. The Committee submitted their report on 16 August 2010, stating "The Vedanta Company has consistently violated the Forest Conservation Act [FCA], the Forest Rights Act [FRA], the Environment Protection Act [EPA] and the Orissa Forest Act in active collusion with the State officials. ..Allowing mining … by depriving two primitive tribal groups of their rights over the proposed mining site to benefit a private company would shake the faith of the tribal people in the laws of the land ".
Full text of the report can be seen at Panel report Based on this panel report,Government of India has served a show cause notice on the Group on why their Stage I environment clearance should not be cancelled.
On 21 August 2010, the customs and excise department charged Vedanta group's Tuticorin-based Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd for evading duty by mis-declaration of export consignment. The company officials, however, charged the customs officials as being vindictive.
Charging Sterlite Industries for misdeclaration, excise officials said the company tried to ship out copper waste for separating gold and silver whereas the waste also contained other precious metals like platinum and palladium .
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, aluminium, lead and iron ore. It is also developing commercial power stations in India in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
(2,400 MW) and Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
(1,980 MW).
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
History
The company was founded by Anil Agarwal in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
in 1976. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 2003 when it raised $876 million through an Initial Public Offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
. Meanwhile in 2006 it acquired Sterlite Gold, a gold mining business. It raised an additional $2bn through an ADR
American Depositary Receipt
An American depositary receipt is a negotiable security that represents the underlying securities of a non-U.S. company that trades in the US financial markets...
issue in 2007. In 2008 it bought certain of the assets of Asarco
ASARCO
ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
, a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
business, out of Chapter 11
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
for $2.6bn.
Copper
Sterlite IndustriesSterlite Industries
Sterlite Industries India Ltd. is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources plc, a diversified and integrated metals and mining group.-Overview:The company engages primarily in the production of copper in India...
(India) Ltd.: Sterlite is registered office headquartered in Tuticorin, India. Sterlite has been a public listed company in India since 1988, and its equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and the BSE, and are also listed and traded on the NYSE in the form of ADSs. Vedanta owns 53.9% of Sterlite and have management control of the company.
Konkola Copper Mines
Konkola Copper Mines
Konkola Copper Mines is a copper mining and smelting company in Zambia. It is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a mining conglomerate based in Mumbai and London. Konkola's name is abbreviated to KCM.-Operations:...
: Vedanta own 79.4% of KCM’s share capital and have management control of the company. KCM’s other shareholder is ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc. The Government of Zambia has a controlling stake in ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc.
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Copper Mines of Tasmania
Copper Mines of TasmaniaIs the name of the successor company to the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company that operated in Queenstown, Tasmania for just short of one hundred years....
Pty Ltd.: CMT is headquartered in Queenstown, Tasmania. Sterlite owns 100.0% of CMT and has management control of the company.
Zinc
Hindustan ZincHindustan Zinc
--117.200.245.124 15:28, 18 November 2011 vikasHindustan Zinc Limited is an integrated mining and resources producer of zinc, lead, silver and cadmium. It is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources PLC. HZL is the world's second largest zinc producer. It's FY2011 revenues were Rs...
Limited: HZL is headquartered in Udaipur in the State of Rajasthan. HZL’s equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. Sterlite owns 64.9% of the share capital in HZL and has management control. Sterlite has a call option to acquire the Government of India’s remaining ownership interest.
Aluminium
Bharat Aluminium CompanyBharat Aluminium Company
Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. is an Indian aluminium company. It was in the public sector until 2001, when it was taken over by Vedanta Resources, a company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange-History:...
Ltd.: BALCO is headquartered at Korba in the State of Chhattisgarh. Sterlite owns 51.0% of the share capital of BALCO and has management control of the company. The Government of India owns the remaining 49.0%. Sterlite exercised an option to acquire the Government of India’s remaining ownership interest in BALCO in March 2004.
Vedanta Aluminium Ltd.: Vedanta Aluminium is headquartered in Jharsuguda, State of Orissa. Vedanta owns 70.5% of the share capital of Vedanta Aluminium and Sterlite owns the remaining 29.5% share capital of Vedanta Aluminium. Vedanta Aluminium produces ingots, billets & wire rods that are sold in the markets around the World.
Madras Aluminium Company Ltd.: MALCO is headquartered in Mettur, India. MALCO’s equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. They own 93.9% of MALCO’s share capital and have management control of the company.
Iron ore
Sesa GoaSesa Goa
Sesa Goa is India's largest producer and exporter of iron ore in the private sector. For over five decades it has been engaged in the business of exploration, mining and processing of iron ore. In fiscal 2010, it produced 21.4 million tonnes and sold 20.5 million tonnes of iron ore...
Limited: Sesa Goa is headquartered in Panaji, India, and its equity shares are listed and traded on the NSE and BSE. Vedanta owns 57.1% of Sesa and have management control of the company.
Commercial power generation business
Sterlite Energy LimitedSterlite Energy Limited
Sterlite Energy Limited is an energy company focused on development and operation of power plants in India. SEL is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources PLC.-Jharsuguda, Orissa:...
: Sterlite Energy is headquartered in Mumbai. Sterlite owns 100.0% of Sterlite Energy and has management control of the company.
Environmental damage
Vedanta has been criticised by human rights and activist groups, including Survival InternationalSurvival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, due to their operations in Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, India that are said to threaten the lives of the Dongria Kondh that populate this region. The Niyamgiri hills are also claimed to be an important wildlife habitat in Eastern Ghats of India as per a report by the Wildlife Institute of India as well as independent reports/studies carried out by civil society groups. In January 2009, thousands of locals formed a human chain around the hill in protest at the plans to start bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
mining in the area. The Union Environment Ministry in August 2010 rejected earlier clearances granted to a joint venture led by the Vedanta Group company Sterlite Industries for mining bauxite from Niyamgiri hills.
Vedanta's Alumina Refinery in Lanjigarh was critiqued by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (the statutory environmental regulation body) for air pollution and water pollution in the area. According to Amnesty International, local people reported dust from the plant settling on clothes, crops and food. An environmental impact assessment by the government found dust pollution was within acceptable limits. Vedanta officials claimed there was no dust pollution from the plant at all. An environmental inspection of the plant reported water pollution by the plant including increasing the pH value of the river Vamshadhara below the refinery and a high level of SPM in the stack emissions.
In October 2009 it was reported that the British Government has criticised Vedanta for its treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribe in Orissa, India. The company refused to co-operate with the British Government and with an OECD investigation. They have rejected charges of environmental damage, saying it may be related to the increased use of fertiliser by farmers.
2007 Mining Deaths
Unsafe mining operations led to 1,246 injuries and 26 deaths involving own employees and contractors.Balco, Korba, Chhattisgarh
A chimney under construction by Gannon Dunkerley & CompanyGannon Dunkerley & Company
Gannon Dunkerley & Company Limited is a civil engineering construction company based in New Delhi, India.-History:Mr. Henry Gannon and Mr. J.H. Dunkerley who were in business in India from 1895, joined together in 1918 to form Gannon...
at the Balco smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh collapsed on 23 September 2009 killing at least 40 workers. Balco and GDCL management have been accused of negligence in the incident.
Armenia
In early 2007, the Armenian government began an investigation of AGRC, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, vis-a-vis compliance with licensing and tax regulations following independent media claims that AGRC submitted incorrect data in production reports relating to royalty payments and was in violation of licensing laws. AGRC was also served a preliminary notice of penalties and fines to the tune of about $50 million (or 80 per cent of its net assets).India
In respect of bauxite mines at Lanjigarh, OrissaOrissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, public interest litigation
Public interest litigation
In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...
s were filed in 2004 by Indian non-government organisations led by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties to the Supreme Court sub-committee regarding the potential environmental impact of the mines. The Ministry of Environment and Forests received reports from expert organisations and has submitted its recommendations to the Supreme Court.
The sub-committee has found "blatant violations" of environmental regulations and grave concerns about the impact of the Niyamgiri mine on both the environment and the local tribal population. The committee recommended to the Court that mining in such an ecologically sensitive area should not be permitted.
Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal rejected allegations of maltreatment of locals. Agarwal said that the mining project at Niyamgiri has been approved by the Indian Supreme Court based on a process that included consultation with the locals carried out within the bounds of the law, attesting that the majority of the locals supported their industrial efforts. An anonymous official of Vedanta Resources blamed the NGO's attacking Vedanta of being funded by competing foreign mining corporations.
Human rights
In February 2010, the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
decided to disinvest from the company on ethical grounds. According to indigenous rights organization, Survival International
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples, seeking to help them to determine their own future. Their campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' fight to keep their ancestral lands,...
, the Church’s decision is extremely unusual, as it almost always prefers a policy of 'constructive engagement’ to disinvesting. The Church stated that "we are not satisfied that Vedanta has shown, or is likely in future to show, the level of respect for human rights and local communities that we expect" and that "[it] would be inconsistent with the Church investing bodies’ joint ethical investment policy".
The Director of Survival International, Stephen Corry
Stephen Corry
Stephen Corry is a British anthropologist and indigenous rights activist, better known as the Director of the non-governmental organisation Survival International. He has also been the chairman of the Free Tibet Campaign since 1993.- Biography :...
, said, "The Church’s unprecedented and very welcome decision sends a strong signal to companies that trample on tribal peoples’ rights: we will not bankroll your abuses. Anybody that has shares in Vedanta should sell them today if they care about human rights."
Vedanta responded by expressing disappointment at the Church's actions, and that they are "fully committed to pursuing its investments in a responsible manner, respecting the environment and human rights".
The NGO Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
has also come to criticize the company's record on human rights. It has stated, "[I]t is clear that Vedanta Resources and its subsidiaries […] have failed to respect the human rights of the people of Lanjigarh and the Niyamgiri Hills." They add, "The proposed bauxite mine […] threatens the survival of a protected Indigenous community […] However, these risks have been largely ignored and consultation with and disclosure of information to affected communities have been almost non-existent."
Following this controversy, several shareholders have joined in selling their shares due to human rights concerns. This includes the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is a philanthropic left-of-centre trust that chiefly supports work undertaken in the UK, Ireland and South Africa...
, the Marlborough Ethical Fund, Millfield House Foundation and PGGM
Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn
Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn is the second largest pension fund in the Netherlands...
. The British and Norwegian governments have both condemned the project, and Martin Currie Investments has also disinvested following pressure from Survival. The BP Pension Fund has reduced its shareholding over similar concerns. The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
criticized the project in their editoral, stating that if the mine goes ahead it will "impoverish a defenceless populace, perhaps to extinction." On July 2010, the Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
of the Indian state of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
has ordered a new investigation into the rights of the Dongria Kondh tribe affected by Vedanta Resources bauxite mine, in what Survival International characterized as a "third major blow to Vedanta in a month". The announcement came two weeks after the Indian Minister of Environment and Forests ordered an investigation on the same topic. A government investigation published in March concluded that Vedanta’s mine ‘may lead to the destruction of the Dongria Kondh’.
A four-member panel set up by Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests investigated the bauxite mining proposal over Niyamgiri near Lanjigarh in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada in Orissa. The area has been traditional habitat of two particularly vulnerable tribal groups, the Dongria Kondh and the Kutia Kondh. The Committee submitted their report on 16 August 2010, stating "The Vedanta Company has consistently violated the Forest Conservation Act [FCA], the Forest Rights Act [FRA], the Environment Protection Act [EPA] and the Orissa Forest Act in active collusion with the State officials. ..Allowing mining … by depriving two primitive tribal groups of their rights over the proposed mining site to benefit a private company would shake the faith of the tribal people in the laws of the land ".
Full text of the report can be seen at Panel report Based on this panel report,Government of India has served a show cause notice on the Group on why their Stage I environment clearance should not be cancelled.
Legal violations
In July 2010, Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group was slapped a tax notice of about Rs. 324 crore (71 million USD as of December 2010) on the company, and charged with violating several rules by the excise department in India.On 21 August 2010, the customs and excise department charged Vedanta group's Tuticorin-based Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd for evading duty by mis-declaration of export consignment. The company officials, however, charged the customs officials as being vindictive.
Charging Sterlite Industries for misdeclaration, excise officials said the company tried to ship out copper waste for separating gold and silver whereas the waste also contained other precious metals like platinum and palladium .
External links
- Vedanta Resources
- Vedanta Resources profile on the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
- London Stock Exchange company listing 88
- Environmental Protection Group, Orissa
- Survival International – Mine story of a sacred mountain
- Mountain and mine (video) – report by Al-Jazeera English on the Vedanta mining operations in the Niyamgiri hills