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Bhubaneswar/Chennai April 13 The Utkal Alumina project has been a troubled one ever since it was conceived 14 years ago. The implementation of the project to produce one million tonnes of alumina per annum ran into trouble following resistance by local tribals over land acquisition.

The project, initially estimated to cost about Rs 4,000 crore, has not progressed beyond the land levelling stage in this period. The agitation against the alumina refinery had hogged the headlines when three tribals were killed in police firing on December 16, 2000.

The ownership of the company underwent a change in 2003 when Hydro Aluminiumas, Norway, one of the original promoters along with Alcan Inc., Canada and Indian Aluminium Company (Indal), exited the joint venture leaving Alcan and Indal holding 45 and 55 per cent equity in Utkal Alumina.

The tribals have been opposing the project under the banner of Prakrutika Sampada Suraksha Parishad. Although the movement has started losing strength in the past couple of years, residents of Kucheipadar, a village close to the project site, have continued their struggle till date. The agitation had started when the company was granted lease in 1993 for extracting bauxite from the Baphilimali hills in Kashipur for the proposed export-oriented alumina refinery.

The tribals were against displacement by the project. They were also of the view that the project will adversely affect the area's ecology thereby affecting their sources of livelihood.

A judicial Commission that probed the December 2000 firing, however, had underlined the need for striking a balance between the need for growth and the necessity to protect the environment in the region.

Utkal Alumina's Annual Report of 2003-04 said that following meetings with representatives of the district and village administration to explain the advantages and disadvantages of industrialisation, the reaction from villages was "positive" with 23 out of 24 villages affected by the project extending their support.

The Directors' Report of 2003-04 clearly conveyed the impression that the company was serious about the project and was following up on extending approvals already granted and following up for fresh ones.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Politics | Rural Development | Hindalco Industries Ltd | Aluminium

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