Clearance to Vedanta’s tungsten mining near eco-sensitive, historic sites in Arittapatti exposes Centre’s bias: Su Venkatesan

MADURAI: Madurai CPM’s member of Parliament Su Venkatesan has raised objections to the Centre’s clearance for the tungsten mining project to come up in Melur taluk of Madurai district. The Left leader wondered how the Centre which shies away from clearing archaeological projects, proactively clears such a dangerous mining project.

Venkatesan urged the State government not to allow the project as it would affect natural resources and will lead to evidence of history as the proposed site has lots of archaeological importance.

The central government had already given a nod to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, which secured rights to mine a tungsten block on 2015.51 hectares near Alagar hills as per The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The location of lands identified for the mining project comes under Arittapatti, which is the first biodiversity heritage site declared by the State government.

The site earmarked for the mining project is situated just one and a half kilometres away from the Alagar hills, which is one of the proud identities in Tamil Nadu, the CPM leader pointed out. The site boasts ancient megalithic structures, Tamil inscriptions that were nearly 2,220 years old, Jain beds, Pandya–era stone beds and Kudaivarai temples that were known for their historic value and cultural significance, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The proposed site also features a freshwater resource with 72 lakes, 200 natural spring ponds and three check dams, he added. Surprisingly, permission for mining has been given to a place near the historical water body the Anaikondan Lake, dating back to the 16th century Pandya era, which also has ecological significance as it supports 250 bird species and wildlife, the Madurai MP said. He criticised the central government saying that it did not give its nod for excavation at the archaeological site of Keeladi, but now trying to destroy the natural beauty of Arittapatti.