MADURAI: In the wake of intensified people’s protests against tungsten mining at Arittapatti in Madurai district, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has urged the Union government to drop the project with immediate effect and it has also decided to set up a high-level fact finding committee consisting of geologists, environmentalists, legal experts and cultural anthropologists.
“This fact finding committee’s report will be released at the earliest to throw more light on the tungsten mining issue for which there are severe objections. Before that, we urge the Centre to drop the project by respecting the concerns and sentiments of the people especially Arittapatti and Nayakkarpatti villages in Melur taluk,” PUCL Madurai district president Prof.S.Krishnaswamy and secretary Mr.John Vincent (advocate), have appealed in a press statement issued from Madurai on November 23rd 2024.
They also pointed out that farmers, activist groups and political parties have already expressed the reasons for objecting tungsten mining and they gave representations to the Madurai District Collector here.
“Hindustan Zinc which is a subsidiary company of global natural resources company Vedanta got the tungsten block near Madurai as a sole bidder in the auction. However, there are certain questions to be answered and clarified to the people of Tamil Nadu about the entire process that paved way for including Arittapatti and the surrounding areas for tungsten mining auction,” the PUCL has asked.
WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS?:
A few questions have been raised by the PUCL from Madurai and the first question is when did the process for mining start after the discovery of Tungsten by satellite surveys in Tamil Nadu’s Melur taluk in Madurai district and the second question is whether the physical G4 reconnaissance survey for tungsten and associated minerals was done in Melur taluk with the consent of Tamil Nadu State govenrment?
The PUCL Madurai district unit also wanted to know who are the authorities who made physical survey of the location and whether the recommendation/ survey report is available to the public. “What is the bidding amount of this huge project and what could be the environmental impact of this tungsten mining project and what steps have been taken to protect the Arittapatti bio-heritage site and we want to know whether the Tamil Nadu government which earlier made the request for mining of tungsten in Madurai district will now take the stand that it will not give permission to Hindustan Zinc to proceed further. These questions have to be answered,” the PUCL press statement by Prof.S.Krishnaswamy and advocate John Vincent had stressed yesterday.
