Alcan
Cannot Substantiate Claims and Admits Proposed Indian Mine Lacks Official Environmental
Clearance
July 7 2004- Montreal
After being pressed by concerned Canadians over Alcan’s investment in a
controversial mining project in the Kashipur region of India, high-level company
officials admitted that Alcan does not currently have the necessary environmental
clearances for the project to move forward. Following protests at Alcan’s
Annual General Meeting (AGM), Michael Hanley, CEO of Alcan's Bauxite and Aluminum
Division, agreed to release substantiation of its extreme claims regarding environmental
impacts and supportof the local population for the mine and refinery complex.
On June 16th at Alcan headquarters in MontrealHanley met with Abhimanyu Sud,
Serena Sial, and Angad Bhalla of Alcan't in India, the group which organized
the AGM demonstration. Independent Montreal journalist Frederic Dubois recorded
the proceedings of this meeting. Despite his earlier verbal agreement, Hanley
did not produce even one document to support Alcan’s contentions that that
the bauxite mine and alumina refinery will have essentially no averse environmental
impacts and that 23 of the 24 company-designatedproject affected villages supported
the proposed mine and refineryon their lands.
Hanley refused to disclose any of part the 1995 Environmental Impact Assessment
prepared by Engineers India Ltd., reasoning that the project's governmental
approval had expired three years ago and was thus no longer relevant to the
proposed project. Further Hanley claimed that the documentation proving that
the signed motions in support of the project from local "elected responsibles"
had still not arrived from company offices in India, even though Alcan't organizers
had already been pushing for this document for several months.
In contrast, Alcan't in India provided Hanley with an independent impact assessment
of the mining and refining project conducted by the TARU research organization
of Delhi. This substantial research document details the debilitating effects
of the proposed aluminum complex on the water resources and local environment
as well as projecting how tens of thousands of inhabitants would be adversely
affected by Alcan's plans. Alcan't in India had also earlier provided Alcan
with signed statements against the project from elected village leaders
(Sarpanches) representing ALL 24 affected villages.
Following the meeting Sial remarked, “this meeting confirms that Alcan
is not interested in honest dialogue. Their unilateral plan changes illustrate
their utter disregard for the livelihoods at stake in Kashipur.” While
Alcan now admits that the project has not had the environmental clearances and
claims new studies will be completed, in April officials of Utkal Alumina International
Limited, the joint venture of which Alcan holds 45% share, announced that construction
would start by June. Abhimanyu Sud commented “we are not in a position
to believe anything company officials claim anymore. We strongly discourage
the public from hearing Alcan's claims until they are able to openly provide
legitimate substantiation.”
Instead of releasing the promised documents, Alcan instead partially unveiled
its unilateral plans for progressing with its investment. The company intends
to complete a preliminary concept study by the end of 2004 and then a definitive
feasibility study by some time in 2005. As such, it is clear that Alcan is eager
to continue to develop this project, despite its complete inability to substantiate
any of its claims regarding environmental and human impacts or any of its claims
regarding the concerns of the local inhabitants.
Alcan't in India is a solidarity group based in Montreal whose objective is
to take the concerns of the peoples of Kashipur directly to Alcan officials
and share-holders, as well as to the general public.
Canada’s
most widely read newspaper, The Toronto Star documents Alcan abuses in India
on its front page:
July
3rd, 2004
The Toronto Star
Martin Regg Cohn
"Indian Villagers Set to Battle Alcan" 1
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