'Won’t allow Tungsten project as long as I am the CM': Stalin as Tamil Nadu Assembly passes resolution against Madurai mining rights

Chief minister M K Stalin, who intervened during the debate, firmly said that he would not allow mining at any cost, as it affected the livelihood, besides adversely impacting the environment.

Chennai: As the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed an “unanimous resolution” against the Union Government granting Tungsten mining rights to Vedanta-owned Hindustan Zinc Limited in Madurai district, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday said that he won’t allow such projects to take root in the state as long as he remained in the post.

“We won’t grant permission for Tungsten mining in Tamil Nadu. Let me say this categorically. This project won’t come to our state as long as I remain the Chief Minister…if it (the project) comes, I won’t continue in this post,” Stalin told the Assembly as Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami pinned the blame on the DMK for allowing the auction.

The resolution, moved by Water Resources and Mining Minister Durai Murugan, nudged the BJP-led Union Government to immediately cancel the tungsten mining rights granted to Hindustan Zinc Limited in Nayakkarpatti village and not to grant any mining license in the future without the nod of the state governments.

“The people of Tamil Nadu and the Government of Tamil Nadu will never accept this step. Since this action of the Union Government has created a sense of anxiety among the people living in the area that their livelihood will be permanently affected, they are undertaking several protests against this action,” the resolution read.

Stalin and Palaniswami were engaged in a heated conversation with the latter accusing the former of not opposing the project during the auction. The Chief Minister also accused Palaniswami’s AIADMK of supporting the mines bill in Parliament, while making it clear that his government won’t allow such ecologically destructive projects in the state.

It is condemnable, the resolution said, that despite the concerns raised by the state government, the Centre went ahead and auctioned the mining rights for such critical and strategic minerals without its permission. “…the Union Government disregarded this objection and proceeded with the auction,” it read.

The assembly resolution came as Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai and party’s floor leader Nainar Nagendran said there would be “good news” from the Centre very soon. Annamalai said Union Mines Minister Kishan Reddy has conveyed to him that he would reconsider the project.

Protests broke out in about 40 villages in Melur taluk of Madurai district after the Union Ministry of Mines on November 7 awarded the rights to mine tungsten in about 5,000 acres in 10 villages that are located close to Arittapatti, Tamil Nadu’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site. They argued that the project would lead to “permanent ecological destruction” in their region which is home to various megalithic structures, Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, Jain Beds, and 2200-year-old rock-cut temples.

Tungsten is a refractory metal which is widely used in defence and medical industries in the area. The auction had triggered a war of words between the state and Union governments after Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

Stalin’s letter prompted the Union Ministry of Mines to clarify that inputs were taken up from the state government before the block was taken up for auction. “Nor did the State Government request the Central Government to drop the block from auction,” the ministry had said.

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.

A summary of the mineral block accessed by DH says the mines are located in Kulanipatti and Melur villages in Melur taluk and that the area is characterised by plain topography except some hillocks and elongated hills.