Facing non-supply of bauxite, Vedanta Aluminium has announced closure of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha from December 5.
The company has served a formal notice to the Odisha Government.
In a notice to the Labour Commissioner of the State Government, the company said, “The unit has already incurred financial losses to the tune of more than Rs 2,500 crore.
“Further operation of the refinery is not feasible unless supply of Orissa bauxite to the refinery is assured.”
The refinery’s capacity is one million tonnes. It has invested over Rs 8,000 crore out of Rs 50,000 crore total investments in Odisha.
The refinery feeds alumina to its smelters located in Jharsuguda and Korba
As on date, the company has 550 employees on its rolls comprising engineers and other executives.
Besides, nearly 5,000 people are employed by various contractors, logistic and service providers, apart from nearly 1,000 people, who are engaged in various self-employment/commercial activities in area. However, in the absence of required supply, its operating capacity came down to 50 per cent.
Company officials said that for the last one or two months, it has been forced to operate just 20-30 per cent of the capacity.
The supply problem persists, despite the Supreme Court, in 2008, having cleared bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri Hills in Lanjigarh subject to approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Ministry has not given its clearance so far.