The state cabinet approved the amendment of the long-term linkage policy to specify detailed guidelines for Bauxite linkage and also okayed mega drinking water projects on Wednesday. Significantly, the government has decided expedite and explore bauxite mines including de-reserving part of Karlapat block.

Bauxite mines have been a contentious issue in the state and several reserves of the ore remain blocked due to forest, environment and tribal resistance be it in Koraput or Kalahandi district. Vedanta Aluminium company has been starved of bauxite mines since ages.

The decisions of the cabinet will enable Vedanta Limited which has set up alumina refinery and aluminium smelter to purchase bauxite from OMC on a long-term basis on market price derived through auction. It may be noted that the government had constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to make appropriate recommendations on the nature and modalities for supply of bauxite ore by the OMC to the Lanjigarh alumina refinery as and when any bauxite mining leases are operated by the OMC.

The cabinet decided that long term linkage for bauxite will be up to 70 per cent while the balance 30 per cent stock will be sold through national e-auction. The weighted average price derived from the national e auction shall be the long-term linkage price. The floor price for the national e-auction will be kept at cost of production plus profit margin of 50 per cent.

The Odisha Mining Corporation will directly deal with the end-user industries. Participation by traders shall be considered only if there is lack of adequate response from the end-user industries. Though Odisha has Bauxite reserves of 1968. 862 million tonnes, the annual production is only about 9.2 million tonnes.

In order to operationalise more blocks so as to create employment opportunities and facilitate investment in mineral based industries, the Cabinet decided to explore through outsourcing more bauxite blocks. It said OMC will expedite the statutory clearances for the blocks assigned to it. Wherever the progress is not satisfactory, these blocks may be surrendered and auctioned for PLcum MLIML by the State Government.

Part area of Karlapat block (excluding the ML area granted to OMC) will be de-reserved and auctioned for PL-cum-ML for expeditious exploitation of bauxite. In another major decision on Wednesday, the government decided to take up four Mega Rural Piped Water Supply projects in 293 mining affected villages of Jajpur, Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts out of the funds under OMBADC.

The state cabinet has approved a package of the four pipe water supply projects worth Rs.551.78 crore to be executed by M/s. N.C.C. Ltd., Hyderabad. These projects will benefit around 2.34 lakhs of people in 9 Blocks. The cabinet also cleared a two rural piped water supply projects in fluoride affected areas of Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts. The package worth Rs.360.60 crore is to be executed by M/s. Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Chennai. Over 4.22 lakhs people of 473 villages of the two districts will get safe drinking water.