New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS): The Union Ministry of Mines on Thursday announced that the government has decided to annul the auction of Nayakkarpatti Tungsten mineral block in Tamil Nadu to protect the heritage area.
The decision was taken after a meeting on Thursday with a delegation of Ambalakarars (traditional community leaders) from Madurai district of Tamil Nadu with the Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy Minister at his chamber in the Ministry of Mines in the national capital.
The Ambalakarars informed the Minister that the Nayakkarpatti Tungsten mineral block includes the Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage Site and a number of other cultural heritage sites.
"After detailed deliberations, considering the importance of the Biodiversity Heritage Site in the area and the commitment of the Government of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership towards protecting traditional rights, it has been decided to annul the auction of Nayakkarpatti Tungsten mineral block,” the Ministry's statement read.
"During the meeting on 22nd January, the Ambalakarars requested the Union Minister to cancel the auction of the Nayakkarpatti Tungsten block. The Union Minister patiently heard the delegation and expressed that the Union Government fully supports the bio diversity heritage protection," according to the statement.
The Ministry of Mines also highlighted that in a press release on December 24 it had stated that after the auction of the block, a number of representations have been received against the auction on the ground that there is a Biodiversity Heritage Site within the block area
The tungsten block in Tamil Nadu was part of the eight critical mineral blocks of which the auction was successfully completed in November 2024.
Significantly, this tranche featured the first successful auction of a tungsten block and two cobalt blocks. These strategic minerals are essential for high-tech, defence, and energy storage applications, and will contribute towards reducing import dependency.
The Tranche IV auction has also marked a beginning for the North-East into India’s mineral auction landscape, with as many as four maiden blocks successfully auctioned in Arunachal Pradesh. The other four blocks apart from the tungsten block in Tamil Nadu are in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.