Bhubaneswar, Sept. 23: Major industrial groups today urged the government of Orissa to honour the MoUs signed with them. Among other things, the MoUs mentioned that the industries should be provided with captive mines.
Raising this issue at a workshop organised by the Orissa chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Vedanta Alumina’s chief Mukesh Kumar said: “Despite investment of nearly Rs 50,000 crore in Orissa, the company has not received any sort of help from the state government. We have to procure raw materials (bauxites) from other states, particularly Rajasthan, to run the alumina refinery at Lanjigarh. But, it will not be viable for a long time.”
He further said it was difficult for mineral resources-based industry to run in Orissa without getting an assured supply of raw materials.
Kumar asked if there was no guarantee of resources, why would one wish to come and sign the MoU? “For the last four years, we have been running to the state government, Centre and courts to get the assured supply of raw materials,” he said.
Arguing for assured supply of captive mines, Kumar said: “The issue of competitive bidding should not be raised at the moment. The companies should be given the captive mines as per the modalities and conditions of the MoUs. If the government raises this issue, it will have a negative impact on the state’s industrialisation.”
Kumar also argued for simplified procedures of laws. “We don’t know which law — the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act or the New Rehabilitation Act should be followed. A sustainable mining policy should be developed,” he said.
The ArcelorMittal group also raised the issue of mining before the state steel and mines department. “We have signed an MoU. But we have not got the mines yet. We have invested a lot for our project. The government should simplify its stand.”
Representatives of the group also said they the government even failed to arrange land for the company’s proposed 12 million tonne plant in Keonjhar. The Arcellor Mittal Group had inked an MoU with the state government in this regard in 2006.
State steel and mines secretary Manoj Ahuja admitted that there was inordinate delay in granting a mining lease because of various reasons. He opined his views on transforming and leveraging the vast mineral wealth of the state for its all round development. Apart from putting focus on value addition and competitive bidding, he also underscored the need for quality infrastructure, technology and environment friendliness.
Deputy director general of the Geological Survey of India, Dr H Sarvothaman, said suitable plans could be drafted with the support of the private companies for more mining exploration.
