Orissa govt moves Supreme Court on Niyamgiri mining

Orissa Mining Corporation MD Saswat Mishra said the corporation yesterday filed an Interlocutory Application in the TN Godhavarman case contesting the MoEF order. “After hearing the matter for 3 years,the Supreme Court in August 2008 had given clearance for bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hilltop. When MoEF withdrew the clearance,it was essentially contempt of court and that’s what we have said in our application,” said Mishra.

The Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite (Vedanta’s sister concern) formed a joint venture,the Southwest Orissa Bauxite Mining. Sterlite has 74 per cent shareholding. This JV was supposed to act for OMC in choosing and monitoring mining on the Niyamgiri hilltop.

However,Mishra said it was upto the SC to decide whether the IA is maintainable or not. “It may so happen that the SC rejects the IA after initial hearing,” he said. When asked what took OMC so long to move SC,Mishra said the Orissa government was closely examining the MoEF order and then wrote back to the MoEF to reconsider its order on December 23. “As we did not get any response from the MoEF for more than 2 months,we decided to challenge the order,” Mishra said.

Last year,Vedanta had challenged the MoEF’s October 2010 order cancelling its expansion of the Lanjigarh alumina refinery plant from 1 million tonne per annum to 6 MTPA and that of the captive power plant from 75 to 300 MW. A division bench of HC comprising Chief Justice V Gopal Gowda and Justice BN Mohapatra on February 28 this year,reserved its verdict on the matter.