Centre asks GSI to reset Nayakkarpatti tungsten mine boundary, exclude biodiversity site

NEW DELHI: Facing stiff resistance from the public, activists, and political parties in Tamil Nadu, the Centre on Tuesday asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to re-examine the proposal to set up a tungsten mine in Nayakkarpatti near Arittapatti in Madurai, and explore the possibility of redefining the block boundary by excluding the biodiversity site.

It also asked the Tamil Nadu government to keep on hold the process of issuing the Letter of Intent to the preferred bidder of the block for the time being.

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Group company, had emerged as the preferred bidder for the tungsten block that was put on auction. In the note issued on Tuesday, the Union Ministry of Mining said after the declaration of the preferred bidder, it received a number of representations against the auction on the ground that there is a biodiversity heritage site there.

It may be noted that Vedanta is the same group that owns Sterlite Copper, the strike against which led to police firing that claimed 13 lives.

In a clear bid to exonerate itself and also implicate the DMK, the Ministry said in its note that inputs were taken from the State government before auctioning the tungsten block. But no communication was received from any quarter, including from the State, it said.

"The Nayakkarpatti tungsten block, covering an area of over 20.16 sq km, was proposed for the auction in February. Inputs were taken from the government of Tamil Nadu before the block was put up for auction," it said, giving the detailed chronology, including dates.

The only comment from the DMK government was about its opposition to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, that empowered the Centre to auction and award rights to mine ‘critical and strategic minerals’, it claimed.

“… The State government informed about the existence of biodiversity site covering an area of 193.215 Ha, but did not recommend against the conduct of auction of this block,” it added.

The issue gathered political tones after Chief Minister MK Stalin said his government would not allow mining there considering aspects such as a biodiversity heritage site and people's opposition. The INDIA bloc led by the ruling DMK, principal opposition AIADMK, and several other parties and outfits joined the chorus against the mining project, which prompted even BJP State unit chief K Annamalai to reach out to the Centre.

Stalin had also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel mining rights and piloted a resolution in the State Assembly against the project in the first week of December.

The block has been auctioned as a composite licence block, which means it has been partially explored and the successful bidder will have to carry out exploration before grant of mining lease.

(With inputs from Bureau)