25 village councils pass resolution against Arittapatti mining project
The central government on November 7 gave its nod to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, which secured rights to mine a tungsten block at Nayakkarpatti in Madurai.
DTNEXT Bureau
Grama sabha meeting
MADURAI: Over 25 panchayats in Madurai district have registered a formal protest against the proposed Arittapatti tungsten mining project passing resolutions in grama sabha meetings held on Saturday.
The central government on November 7 gave its nod to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, which secured rights to mine a tungsten block at Nayakkarpatti in Madurai. The private firm has decided to set up the tungsten mine on 5,000 acres in Melur and its surrounding areas.
Tungsten Mining Project Ethirppu Makkal Kootamaippu representative K Selvaraj, who hails from Kambur village, said that if the mining project is allowed, it would have a detrimental effect on agriculture, which is the lifeline for multiple villages in Melur taluk, apart from its environmental impact. “Agriculture is the only source of livelihood for many in these rural areas,” he said.
Over 25 village panchayats passed resolutions demanding the Centre to cancel the license granted to the private firm to mine tungsten. Arittapatti, one of the villages earmarked for the project, is rich in ecological diversity and of great historical significance. The region was declared as a ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’ by the Tamil Nadu government.
The resolution sought to protect heritage and preserve traditions. The panchayats also called for a resolution urging the State government not to give permission for the mining project and also make a policy decision in the Legislative Assembly and enact a special law in this regard.
Many villages in the panchayat unions of Melur, Kottampatti, Madurai East, Chellampatti and Kallupatti passed these resolutions.
When there was a move to set up four granite quarries at revenue villages of Sekkipatti, Ayyapatti and Tiruchunai in Kottampatti block last year, it drew stiff opposition from the local people. They protested and succeeded in blocking the move. Villagers are confident that they will be able to repeat the same on this occasion too.
