Vedanta Aluminium Ltd's (VAL) plans to expand the capacity of its unit in Lanjigarh in Orissa is likely to face further delay with the Government asking the company to seek fresh public consent, as part of the new terms it has to meet to get the environment clearance.

VAL, a subsidiary of the newly announced, Anil Aggarwal-controlled Sesa Sterlite, has been facing delay in completing the expansion of the Orissa unit from the present one million tonnes to five million tonnes due to environment clearance.

Confirming that the company had received the new terms of reference for environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Mr S.K. Roongta, Managing Director, said “We are working on the new terms that relate to some technical and environmental details.”

He was unwilling to give a time frame as to when the company expected to finally get the environment clearance. “All I can say now is that we can complete the first phase of the expansion from 1 mt to 2 mt within three to six months from the day we get the (environment) clearance,” Mr Roongta told Business Line on the sidelines of a function here.

He said a significant part of the phase one expansion has been completed. “We are investing about Rs 5,000 crore for doubling the capacity, out of which about 50 to 60 per cent has been spent. We can reach the 5 mt tonne mark within a year from this,” he said.

Vedanta has also been facing delay in securing its own bauxite resources, which is adding to the drag on its aluminium plans. It is currently sourcing the raw material from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, which is pushing up its production cost.

> amitmitra@thehindu.co.in

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