TN Assembly Adopts Unanimous Resolution Against Tungsten Mining; 'Won't Allow Until I'm CM', Says Stalin

The resolution urged the union government to revoke the mining rights issued to Vedanta group at sites ripe with Biodiversity and archaeological importance.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government adopted a resolution against tungsten mining in the Madurai district, in its two-day session from Monday, urging the Union government to cancel the rights awarded to Vedanta group at Arittapatti village.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, who intervened during the debate, asserted he would not allow mining at any cost, as it would affect the livelihood besides adversely impact the environment. The mining block comprises the state's first biodiversity site besides several sites of archaeological importance.

"Tungsten mining will not be allowed under any circumstances. If it (project) comes, then I will not hold this post (of Chief Minister)," Stalin said when the Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami charged the ruling dispensation with "being silent" for 10 months and deciding to act only after the people in the affected areas of Melur in Madurai district began to protest.

The resolution was passed with the support of all parties present in the legislature including the Opposition AIADMK, PMK and BJP.

The special resolution of the government urged the Centre not to conduct auctioning of mining rights without the consent of the state government.

The resolution was tabled in the House by Leader of the House and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan.

While tabling the resolution, Duraimurugan said the mining block included a bio-diversity heritage site at Arittapatti village. "The Tamil Nadu government and the people of Madurai will not allow this tungsten mining project," he said.

Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu recalled how the state government wrote to the Centre citing the bio-diversity conservation soon after we got to learn about the mining project. "We registered our opposition to the project. The state had also opposed when the union government amended the mining act removing the requisite to obtain the consent of the state. If you had understood the opposition from the state, then you could have avoided the auctioning of the mining blocks," said Thennarasu, as he trained his guns at the BJP legislators present.

Chief Minister MK Stalin who had already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to cancel the tungsten mining rights awarded to Vedanta's Hindustan Zinc Limited, wanted to know whether the saffron party would speak to their party high command and get the decision revoked.

BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran, in his reply to the CM's question, said they too have spoken to their party high-command and that they were expecting some "good news" soon.

AIADMK chief and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami rued that the project could have been stopped at the nascent stage itself had the DMK government registered its opposition at the right time. "We would not have had to have this debate. The mining project would have never been approved," Palaniswami said.

"You boast of having a large number of MPs in the Parliament. Had your MPs stalled the proceedings, as our members did on the Cauvery water issue, then the auction would not have been finalised and people would not have been put to hardship," Palaniswami claimed.

Also, he alleged the Centre had stated that between February and November, there was no communication from any quarter including the state government regarding any opposition to the auction nor did it request the Centre to drop the block from auctioning.

Denying the charges, Leader of the House Duraimurugan said he wrote to the Centre on October 3, conveying Tamil Nadu's opposition to mining and even Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to give up the proposal of mining tungsten.

Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the DMK parliamentarians opposed the amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, in August 2023, empowering the Centre to exclusively auction mining leases and composite licences with regard to critical and strategic minerals.

When Palaniswami again blamed the state government on the issue, Stalin intervened and said he deputed Minister P Moorthy to Madurai to assure the people that the DMK government would not allow mining in their area.