In spite of the DMK government’s delayed objections to the contentious Tungsten mining project in Madurai, BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai has expressed confidence in resolving the issue following a meeting with Union Ministers L Murugan and G Kishan Reddy. Annamalai criticized the DMK for not raising objections earlier despite the project’s approval and growing local protests over potential environmental and displacement issues. The project, which involves mining in the Arittapatti and Nayakarpatti blocks, has seen Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Congress leaders calling for its cancellation.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Annamalai said, “The DMK is the one creating the problem. The BJP is giving a solution to the problem. For example, Tungsten mining. If you look at this issue, the Arittapatti block, Nayakarpatti block – the Ministry of Mines has written on 25 September 2023 to the government about the auctioning of the Nayakarpatti Tungsten block. The TN government kept saying they never told. But on 8 February 2024, the TN government gave detailed input to the centre on the Tungsten block mining. I am not revealing the name of the officer who wrote this otherwise the TN government will pounce on him. Based on the input given, the centre brought about this mining in the second and fourth tranche, and the preferred bidder was selected on 7 November 2024. After all this happened, 10 months after it was put forth, the TN government says we have nothing to do with this. Despite having such a long time period – 1 year and 2 months, they never objected even a bit. They never said no anywhere. Yesterday Union Minister of State L Murugan and I met the Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy. We will soon hear a good decision. It is our continuous criticism that DMK having these many MPs for strength are using them only for politics and not for any constructive work.”
He further said, “As far as India is concerned, as far as our country’s minerals are concerned, there are 3 categories – major, minor and critical. If you consider the Tungsten block in Nayakarpatti, it is a critical mineral. Not even one rupee from the sale will go to the central government. The central government is a facilitator. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) goes to each state and analyses what minerals are present in each state. They apprise the state and central government of the findings. Then if the central government wants to auction it, they will ask the state government. That is how our central government asked the state government in September 2023. Before that, in 2021, the GSI had already informed the state government about the tungsten. This is something that both governments should do together. Unlike what is claimed by some politicians in TN, not one rupee goes to the central government from this. It all goes to the state government. You can take the case of Odisha – their budget money comes from minerals only. The central government only facilitates this. When they asked first, the state government did not object. Then, when the tender conditions were put forth, the state government did not object nor did they object when the tender was put in place. 10 months later, after the tender was won by the Hindustan Zinc company, the people of the region started protesting, and only after that did the state government register an objection. The state government could have informed the centre of the Jain burial sites in September 2023 or about the Alagar Malai or about the megalithic burial site. They did not raise objection anywhere. Even the related officer did not raise any objection with regard to the site but did tell about the area size, and the biodiversity hotspot and also said no problem at the 18 sqkm. This was their input.”
இது அனைவரும் பார்த்து பகிரவேண்டிய காணொளி.
மதுரையில் டங்ஸ்டன் மைனிங் தொடர்பாக திமுக அரசு எப்படியெல்லாம் மக்களை ஏமாற்றியுள்ளது என்பதை தலைவர் @annamalai_K இன்று டெல்லியில் பத்திரிகையாளர்களை சந்தித்து விளக்கினார்.
டங்ஸ்டன் மைனிங் மூலமாக லாபம் சம்பாதிக்கலாம் என மத்திய அரசுக்கு… pic.twitter.com/1LNETOFZUc
— Krishna Kumar Murugan (@ikkmurugan) December 13, 2024
The Tungsten mining project in Madurai has sparked strong opposition from local residents, who are raising concerns about its potential environmental impact and the risk of displacement. Communities have organized protests, fearing threats to agriculture, water resources, and their livelihoods.
The issue was recently brought to the forefront in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, where a heated debate took place over the Centre’s approval for the Vedanta group to mine tungsten in the region. The Assembly ultimately passed a resolution opposing the project, with Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan introducing the motion in response to protests from Arittapatti residents.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has also weighed in, writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the cancellation of the mining approval. Additionally, Congress MP from Sivaganga, Karti P Chidambaram, expressed his concerns in a letter to Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, emphasizing the detrimental effects of allowing Vedanta to proceed with the mining project.
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