Anil Agarwal’s ambitious plans run into a storm of protests in Orissa. Can he still win? By SUTANU GURU
Someshwar thinks that just one day and one interaction
with the man changed his entire world-view. Rising from the ranks since 1978, Someshwar had become a Junior Manager in the organisation when he and his colleagues got a bolt from the blue in 2001. What was whispered for months suddenly became a grim reality. Their company BALCO had been privatised and the Indian Government was replaced by Anil Agarwal of Sterlite Industries as the majority stakeholder. Someshwar says that they were all asked to attend a meeting to be addressed by Anil Agarwal who had specially flown down to assuage employee concerns. “Behind the soft words of reassurance, I could sense the steel fist. I decided then and there that protest was futile and made up my mind to accept the VRS package,” he adds.
BALCO was clearly a triumph for Anil Agarwal who has refashioned Sterlite Industries since that takeover into Vedanta Resources and shifted headquarters from Mumbai to London. Educated blue and white collar employees gradually caved in. The same entrepreneur is now finding it incredibly tough to handle opposition to his dreams from illiterate tribals and villagers. Vedanta is in the process of implementing three ambitious projects in Orissa and is facing determined opposition for all three from villagers, tribals and activists. So severe is the opposition that Anil Agarwal’s grand vision for Orissa seems to be in jeopardy at the moment. When contacted over telephone for his opinion, Agarwal was gracious enough to speak to this correspondent but politely declined to comment. “I really don’t want to say anything on this sensitive issue. Please excuse,” he said. There was a polite but firm, no, even to our request for him to ask his office to organise a good picture of his!
The most bitter and controversial battle is being fought in the tribal belt of Orissa. Vedanta is setting up a 1.4 million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in the now notorious Kalahandi district. Vedanta wants access to rich Bauxite mines located close to the plant site to feed the alumina refinery. The project also has a 100 MW thermal power plant to feed the refinery since alumina refining is very power intensive. Vedanta is investing $1 billion on this ambitious project and would further cement the position of Vedanta as one of the leading aluminium players in the world.
Tribals living in Lanjigarh are up in arms because the project will displace thousands of them. More importantly, the Niyamgiri Hills where Bauxite ore is located and where Vedanta wants to operate a mine is considered sacred by the tribals of Kalahandi. The tribals are protesting not just in Kalahandi, but have hit the streets in Delhi and knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. Even environmental activists have jumped into the fray and are vehemently opposing the project because it will damage and eventually destroy the rich biodiversity of these tribal hills. On November 23, 2007, Agarwal and Vedanta received a blow when the Supreme Court barred the company from operating the mine. The order stated, “We are not against the project in principle. But we cannot risk handing over this important national asset to a company unless we are satisfied about its credibility.” Fortunately for Agarwal, the court has not slammed the doors on the project and has asked Vedanta to address environmental damage concerns and dislocation of tribals.
The second major Vedanta project to hit a roadblock is the highly ambitious Vedanta University that is being set up as a wannabe Harvard or Oxford by the Anil Agarwal Foundation after Agarwal and the Orissa Chief Minister signed a MoU in July 2006. The estimated project cost for the university is Rs.15 billion, something no private entrepreneur has attempted at one stroke in India. The key to the project is 8,000 acres of prime and sylvan land adjacent to the famous Puri-Konark Marine Drive. For Anil Agarwal, the university was supposed to be his ‘gift’ to the people of Orissa and India. To a large extent, the university was projected to be a great corporate communication exercise by a company that was facing problems of credibility. Unfortunately for Agarwal, it hasn’t quite worked that way. Activists are accusing Vedanta of sidetracking the mining and tribal controversies by launching a high profile PR campaign in the state. More ominously, locals in Puri-Konark, whose land will be used for the university are up in arms too. Thanks to a tourist boom, the 8,000 acres allotted to Vedanta has now become premium real estate with quite a few five star hotel projects coming up nearby. This correspondent drove through the scenic Marine Drive and spoke to quite a few locals who are sullenly opposed to the university. Says 25-year-old Bimbadhara whose family owns some land in the place, “The state government is simply gifting away prime land to a private company and taking away our livelihood. We will simply not allow that.” Clearly, Agarwal and S. S. Rath, Head of the Vedanta Alumina project in Orissa have another tough job on their hands.
Someshwar thinks that just one day and one interaction
with the man changed his entire world-view. Rising from the ranks since 1978, Someshwar had become a Junior Manager in the organisation when he and his colleagues got a bolt from the blue in 2001. What was whispered for months suddenly became a grim reality. Their company BALCO had been privatised and the Indian Government was replaced by Anil Agarwal of Sterlite Industries as the majority stakeholder. Someshwar says that they were all asked to attend a meeting to be addressed by Anil Agarwal who had specially flown down to assuage employee concerns. “Behind the soft words of reassurance, I could sense the steel fist. I decided then and there that protest was futile and made up my mind to accept the VRS package,” he adds.BALCO was clearly a triumph for Anil Agarwal who has refashioned Sterlite Industries since that takeover into Vedanta Resources and shifted headquarters from Mumbai to London. Educated blue and white collar employees gradually caved in. The same entrepreneur is now finding it incredibly tough to handle opposition to his dreams from illiterate tribals and villagers. Vedanta is in the process of implementing three ambitious projects in Orissa and is facing determined opposition for all three from villagers, tribals and activists. So severe is the opposition that Anil Agarwal’s grand vision for Orissa seems to be in jeopardy at the moment. When contacted over telephone for his opinion, Agarwal was gracious enough to speak to this correspondent but politely declined to comment. “I really don’t want to say anything on this sensitive issue. Please excuse,” he said. There was a polite but firm, no, even to our request for him to ask his office to organise a good picture of his!
The most bitter and controversial battle is being fought in the tribal belt of Orissa. Vedanta is setting up a 1.4 million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in the now notorious Kalahandi district. Vedanta wants access to rich Bauxite mines located close to the plant site to feed the alumina refinery. The project also has a 100 MW thermal power plant to feed the refinery since alumina refining is very power intensive. Vedanta is investing $1 billion on this ambitious project and would further cement the position of Vedanta as one of the leading aluminium players in the world.
Tribals living in Lanjigarh are up in arms because the project will displace thousands of them. More importantly, the Niyamgiri Hills where Bauxite ore is located and where Vedanta wants to operate a mine is considered sacred by the tribals of Kalahandi. The tribals are protesting not just in Kalahandi, but have hit the streets in Delhi and knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court. Even environmental activists have jumped into the fray and are vehemently opposing the project because it will damage and eventually destroy the rich biodiversity of these tribal hills. On November 23, 2007, Agarwal and Vedanta received a blow when the Supreme Court barred the company from operating the mine. The order stated, “We are not against the project in principle. But we cannot risk handing over this important national asset to a company unless we are satisfied about its credibility.” Fortunately for Agarwal, the court has not slammed the doors on the project and has asked Vedanta to address environmental damage concerns and dislocation of tribals.
The second major Vedanta project to hit a roadblock is the highly ambitious Vedanta University that is being set up as a wannabe Harvard or Oxford by the Anil Agarwal Foundation after Agarwal and the Orissa Chief Minister signed a MoU in July 2006. The estimated project cost for the university is Rs.15 billion, something no private entrepreneur has attempted at one stroke in India. The key to the project is 8,000 acres of prime and sylvan land adjacent to the famous Puri-Konark Marine Drive. For Anil Agarwal, the university was supposed to be his ‘gift’ to the people of Orissa and India. To a large extent, the university was projected to be a great corporate communication exercise by a company that was facing problems of credibility. Unfortunately for Agarwal, it hasn’t quite worked that way. Activists are accusing Vedanta of sidetracking the mining and tribal controversies by launching a high profile PR campaign in the state. More ominously, locals in Puri-Konark, whose land will be used for the university are up in arms too. Thanks to a tourist boom, the 8,000 acres allotted to Vedanta has now become premium real estate with quite a few five star hotel projects coming up nearby. This correspondent drove through the scenic Marine Drive and spoke to quite a few locals who are sullenly opposed to the university. Says 25-year-old Bimbadhara whose family owns some land in the place, “The state government is simply gifting away prime land to a private company and taking away our livelihood. We will simply not allow that.” Clearly, Agarwal and S. S. Rath, Head of the Vedanta Alumina project in Orissa have another tough job on their hands.
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