Clearing the legal hurdles for Sterlite Industries Limited to mine bauxite from the ecologically fragile Niyamgiri hills, the Supreme Court today cleared its Rs 4,000-crore aluminium project in Orissa.

Sterlite Industries, the parent firm of London-listed Vedanta Resources, had wanted the court’s permission since it proposed to divert about 660.749 hectare of forest land for mining purposes to feed its alumina plant.

The three-member bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia allowed Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite to go ahead with bauxite mining.

However while giving its clearance, it asked the nodal authority, the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), to proceed in accordance with law.

Said a statement from Sterlite Industries: “It was happy that the project has been approved. We are committed to implementing the project in accordance with the guidelines and safeguards laid down by the court...The bauxite mining project, along with the alumina refinery in Kalahandi, will bring significant employment and economic livelihood for the local people....”

Justice Kapadia while reading the order said: “We are approving the suggestions” of Sterlite which had agreed to deposit with the special purpose vehicle — Lanjigarh Scheduled Area Development Foundation — 5 per cent of the annual profits before tax and interest from Lanjigarh project, consisting of bauxite mining and alumina refinery, or Rs 10 crore per year whichever is higher.

It would make a payment of the net present value of Rs 55 crore and Rs 50.3 crore towards wildlife management plan for conservation and management of wildlife around the mine and Rs 12.2 crore towards tribal development, Sterlite had stated in its application.

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