By N S Venkataraman
The Tata Group has announced several times in the past its intention to set up a titanium dioxide project in Tamil Nadu. Titanium dioxide is a versatile pigment produced from ilmenite ore. India has more than 150 million tonnes of ilmenite deposits, which are estimated to be around 14 per cent of the total world reserves.Titanium dioxide content of the ilmenite deposits available in India is the highest compared to other ilmenite deposits in the world. But India produces only around one per cent of the global output.
While global production of titanium dioxide pigment is around 4.5 million tonnes per annum Indian production is hardly 55000 tonnes per annum. The global demand is steadily growing at 3 to 4 per cent per annum.Clearly, India has been losing opportunities in the field of titanium dioxide and the project of the Tata Group would enable India to exploit the advantages. The Tata group itself has already delayed the project considerably, as it was not able to make up its mind in the past among the various project opportunities available to it.The group has provided explanations to allay the apprehensions of the political parties and local agitators over its proposed Rs.2,500-crore titanium dioxide project in Tamil Nadu.
However, one gets an impression that there is a communication gap between the Tata group and the local citizens who are objecting to the project.The group should interact with the agitators and understand their views and meet their expectations to the extent possible. The Tamil Nadu Government which has approved and welcomed the project should take the initiative to develop dialogue as well. If it is a subject of social issues involving the problems of deprived people, the government has even more responsibilities than the Tata group.
The apprehension of local citizens about the project relates to possible demolition of dwelling units and large-scale eviction of people, destruction of agriculture land and means of livelihood, over-exploitation of water resources and jobs.The Tata Group wants to acquire 10,000 acres of land for the project which will cover around 50 villages and causing eviction of more than 20000 families accounting for around one lakh people. The local people maintain that the compensation of a few lakhs of rupees for the acquired land cannot undo the damage and they have no other place to go.I feel that the requirement of 10,000 acres of land for this project is on the very high side. A technical audit should be carried out to find whether the requirement is justified.
Internationally, projects are being planned on smaller areas. This could be possible in this case also by adopting appropriate designs. Tata Steel Ltd. says that such a large tract of land is required as the thickness of mineral sands occurring in the inland deposit is limited to only 6 to 7 metres and in some stretches, it is as low as 0.5 metres. Further, the percentage of heavy minerals content of the mineral sands is about 10 per cent as against 35 to 40 per cent in the beaches of Tamil Nadu.If the ilmenite available is as low as what Tata group has claimed and if the ilmenie deposits in areas nearby are much larger, then the site itself can be termed as uneconomic for mining purposes. In such circumstances, it should opt for other areas where more ilmenite content is available. There should be a reasonable relation between the area of mining and the quantity of mineral mined.
Has there been any independent study made by the Government of Tamil Nadu to find out whether the requirement of so much land for the project is justified? The claims of the Tata group have not been verified by any independent agency. Perhaps, the opinion of the Geological Survey of India should be obtained. To obtain one tonne of titanium dioxide 2.2 tonnes of ilmenite is required. For the proposed titanium dioxide project of capacity one lakh tonnes per annum, the requirement of ilmenite would be only 2.2 lakh tonnes per annum.Tata group says that the mining capacity would be 5 lakh tonnes per annum that would need 10,000 acres of land. Is the case then that the Tata group may be planning to export surplus ilmenite and the land is required not only for mining ilmenite for the proposed titanium dioxide project but also for producing surplus ilmenite for export?
The land can be drastically reduced, if the mining capacity and mining area would be limited to the requirement of production of one lakh tonnes per annum of titanium dioxide.Until a technical audit is carried out by a team consisting of geological and mining experts and chemical engineers with hands-on experience in designing and operating titanium dioxide project, the requirement of land for the project cannot be conclusively established. The Government of Tamil Nadu or the State Planning Commission or the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation do not have the expertise to carry out such technical audit at present. Possibly, the local citizens will welcome the project if the Tata group reduces drastically the area of land required.
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