Vedanta ran covert lobbying campaign to weaken environmental laws: OCCRP

Anil Agarwal. Pic/X

Mining and oil giant Vedanta ran a "covert" lobbying campaign to weaken key environmental regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alleged in a new report.

After coming out with a damning report on Adani group promoters allegedly using proxies to route money in their own shares, the George Soros-funded organisation in a new report said the Indian government approved the changes without public consultation and implemented them using "illegal methods".

"In one case, Vedanta led a push to ensure mining companies could produce up to 50 per cent more without new environmental approvals," it said.

The Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta's oil business, Cairn India, also successfully lobbied to have public hearings scrapped for exploratory drilling in oil blocks it won in government auctions. Since then, six of Cairn's controversial oil projects in Rajasthan have been approved despite local opposition, it claimed.

Reached for comments, a Vedanta spokesperson said the group "operates with an objective of import substitution by enhancing domestic production in a sustainable manner."

"In view of the same, continuous representations are submitted for consideration to the government in the best interest of national development and India's march towards self-reliance in natural resources," the spokesperson said without refuting the OCCRP report.

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