Centre to re-examine Tungsten block in Tamil Nadu to exclude eco-sensitive areas

Chennai: After wide-spread opposition, the Union Ministry of Mines on Tuesday asked the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to “reexamine” the tungsten block awarded to Hindustan Zinc Limited in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district and explore the possibility of redefining its boundary by excluding the state’s first bio-diversity site from the mining block.

The ministry also asked Tamil Nadu to put “on hold for time being” the process of issuing the Letter of Intent to the Vedanta-owned company which was awarded the Nayakkarpatti Tungsten block on November 7. The decision by the Union Government comes after the villagers in Melur block in the district rose in protest against mining of tungsten in their area, which also houses several archaeological sites.

However, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan said the people want the entire auction to be cancelled, not re-examining the block to exclude the biodiversity site alone. “People want the entire area to be protected. But the statement from the Mines Ministry makes it clear they are planning to go ahead with mining tungsten by excluding the eco-sensitive areas, which is not fine with us,” Venkatesan said.

The protests prompted the Tamil Nadu government to pass a resolution in the Assembly against the grant of mining licence to Hindustan Zinc Limited and nudging the Centre not to allot mining blocks without consulting the local administration. The resolution came after the government made it clear that it won’t grant permission even if the preferred bid applied for necessary clearance.

The BJP also took up the issue with Union Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy with state unit chief K Annamalai meeting him in person.

The mining block is located close to Arittapatti, Tamil Nadu’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site, which is one of the reasons for the opposition to the project. Arittapatti consists of a chain of seven barren granite hillocks and a distinctive landscape of rocky hills that acts as a watershed, supporting 72 lakes, 200 natural spring pools, and 3 check dams.

Hillocks in Arittapatti village have rich biological and historical significance with the presence of around 250 bird species, including 3 flagship Raptor species – Laggar Falcon (Falco jugger), Shaheen Falcon (Falco peregrines), and Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata). The village also features various megalithic structures, Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, Jain Beds, and 2200-year-old rock-cut temples. The ministry blamed the state government for not recommending against conduct of auction before the block was allotted, though it admitted that Tamil Nadu informed about the existence of biodiversity sites covering an area of 193.215 hectares.

“When the block was initially put up for auction in February 2024, until the auction result was declared on November 7, 2024, there was no communication from the state government regarding any opposition or concerns about the auction despite the fact that Tamil Nadu attended several auction related meetings of Ministry of Mines,” it said.

A number of representations have also been received against auction of this block on the ground that there is a biodiversity heritage site within the block area, the ministry noted. "…GSI has been requested to re-examine the block and explore the possibility of redefining the block boundary by excluding the biodiversity site area from the block,” the statement added.