BHUBANESWAR: The Vedanta Aluminium on Tuesday exhorted confidence that the Sijimali bauxite block, owned by it, has the potential to transform the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants and primitive tribes of Kalahandi and Rayagada by mainstreaming and accelerating the pace of development in the two districts.
The company has planned to spend Rs 1,200 crore in the next 25 years through the existing Lanjigarh Periphery Area Development Fund and proposed Sijimali Periphery Area Development Fund in Rayagada and Kalahandi to transform these regions.
Company officials said Sijimali Bauxite Mine will generate a revenue of Rs 2,200 crore per annum in favour of the public exchequer in the state during its entire life span, empowering Odisha to undertake infrastructural development for the next 50 years. It will also enable the state to come up with a number of welfare schemes for the residents of the region.
The block, according to Vedanta Aluminium, will also create more than 1,500 direct and indirect job opportunities. The local tribals’ participation in the developmental drive will also change the entire narrative of the region on the indexes of health, education, livelihood and environment.