CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday urged the state government not to grant any permission, including environmental clearance, to Vedanta to carryout Tungsten mining in Arittapatti at Melur.
In a statement, he said that the Union Ministry of Minerals and Mines, has recently held a nationwide auction for mining mineral resources and awarded Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Sterlite Vedanta, a license to mine tungsten mineral in a land spreadover 5,000 acres in Melur, Madurai.
Pointing out that the state government has declared Arittapatti village as a biodiversity heritage site covering an area of 5000 acres (193.215 hectares), he said that the project will destroy 2,200-year-old Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, cave temples, and Jain beds in this area, and the wildlife in the nearby Perumal Hill will also be destroyed, so all the villagers around are opposing the construction of the mine.
“It is strongly condemned that the BJP government has once again given permission to a subsidiary of the Vedanta Group, which was responsible for the shooting and killing 13 people during the anti-Sterlite protest in Thoothukudi, to destroy people's livelihoods and damage the environment,” he said.