Vedanta has refuted a host of allegations made in an open letter issued by a group of academics, activists and writers a fortnight ago, urging their peers not to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival's London event on May 21 sponsored by the metals and mining company. The letter claimed that Vedanta was involved in violating environmental norms and human rights around the world.
The letter highlighted accidents at the London-headquartered company's facilities and alleged that there had been irregularities in the manner in which environmental clearances had been obtained. "Vedanta's activities are destroying the lives of thousands of people in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab and also in Zambia, South Africa and Australia," Vedanta claimed.
On Saturday, activists disrupting proceedings at the Vedanta Jaipur Literature Festival London 2016 with placards and speeches and even occupied one of the foyer venues for a short while.
Vedanta said the letter had presented a one-sided view. In a detailed rebuttal, the company said it maintained world-class standards of governance, safety, sustainability and social responsibility, adding that it was fully committed to protecting human rights and the environment.
Here is the full text of the statement:
Regarding the environmental performance of Konkola Copper Mines
KCM has spent over $ 700 million improving the environmental performance of its operations, as a clear demonstration of its commitment to social and environmental sustainability of its operations.
When Vedanta took over the operation at KCM we inherited mines and processing plants that had been in operation for many decades. Along with taking over the operations at KCM, Vedanta has...
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