The area identified for mining is rich in flora and fauna, numerous lakes and springs, and holds a mirror to the past.
Published Nov 26, 2024 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2024 | 9:10 AM
The area is of historical importance since it has several paleolithic structures, 2200-year-old Tamil inscriptions, Jain temples, rock shelters, and cave temples.
Concerns have been raised in Tamil Nadu after the Union government granted Hindustan Zinc Limited permission to mine tungsten at Nayakkarpatti in the Madurai district.
The granting of permission has sparked protests in the area, with demands being raised to withdraw the approval. The protesters also urged the Tamil Nadu government not to allow mining in the eco-sensitive areas.
A section of protesters also feared the permission granted would lead to another Thoothukudi Sterlite plant-like tragedy, in which 13 people were killed in police firing in May 2018. The people were protesting against Sterlite Copper, a subsidiary of Vedanta.
Incidentally, Hindustan Zinc is also a subsidiary of the Vedanta Group.
The Union Ministry of Coal and Mines announced on 7 November that it had completed the bidding process for eight mineral blocks.
Villagers submitted a petition to the Collector demanding no mineral mine should be allowed in Madurai.
“Tenders were floated for 21 mineral blocks on June 24. After evaluation of technical bids, 10 mineral blocks advanced to the second round of e-auction. This includes three first-initiate blocks and seven second-initiate blocks,” the ministry said in a statement.
“These blocks include minerals such as phosphorite, graphite, and vanadium, which are essential for high-tech and green energy applications. The bidding process for eight blocks has been completed, and the bidding process for the remaining two blocks will be completed by 02.12.2024,”
One of the eight successful blocks in the fourth phase is the Tungsten mineral under Nayakkarpatti Panchayat Union of Tamil Nadu. Hindustan Zinc Company has won the bid.”
The mining will be on 5,000 acres in the Melur block including Arittapatti, Meenakshipuram, Koolanipatti, Chettyarpatti, A. Vallalappatti, Shanmuganathapuram, Naduvalavu and Ettimangalam in the Madurai district.
In a letter to Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan demanded the Union government repeal the allocation of the mineral block to Hindustan Zinc in Melur.
Arittapatti Hill
The lawmaker said the mining firm was setting up a tungsten mine on 2015.15 hectares near the Arittapati Biodiversity Heritage Site in Alakarmalai. Incidentally, Arittapati is Tamil Nadu’s first biodiversity heritage site.
It has also been pointed out that Alagar Hill is located one-and-a-half kilometers away from the mine complex’s boundary. The area is of historical importance since it has several paleolithic structures, 2200-year-old Tamil inscriptions, Jain temples, rock shelters, and cave temples.
The area has 72 lakes, 200 natural springs, three check dams, and megalithic structures. It is also home to 250 different bird species, including rare raptors such as the laggard falcon, Shaheen falcon, and Bonelli’s eagle, besides skunk, and slender loris.
Venkatesan said it was wrong to list this area of importance as a tungsten mine and put it on the auction list. The Union government, which denied permission for excavations in Sivaganga’s Keeladi had given its approval for mining to “destroy” Aritapatti, he said.
The initial Keeladi excavations indicated that the Indus Valley and Dravidian civilizations could be interconnected.
“To destroy traces of Tamil culture, an area of 2015.15 hectares, which includes Arittapatti, has been given to Hindustan Zinc, a subsidiary of Vedanta, to set up a tungsten mine. I urge the Union Government to immediately cancel this auction process,” the MP demanded.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who represents Thoothukudi in the Lok Sabha, also opposed mining.
“I strongly condemn the Union government for permitting Vedanta-Hindustan Zinc to mine tungsten in Nayakkarpatti, Madurai. This move ignores Vedanta’s history of environmental destruction and human suffering, as seen in Thoothukudi’s Sterlite tragedy,” she said.
The DMK leader further added that “Tungsten mining risks devastating local ecosystems, displacing communities, and violating people’s rights. The government must respect the voices of the local people and revoke this decision immediately.”,
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Forest K Ponmudy said the state government would not permit mining in Arittapatti.
“The Centre has accorded permission to Hindustan Zinc Ltd for mining at the site. But we are firm on rejecting any such proposal that comes to the forest department,” he told reporters in Chennai on Thursday, 21 November.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
