SC allows Vedanta to bid for alumina sale tenders by Nalco

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today allowed Vedanta Ltd to bid for alumina sale tenders floated by Nalco. A three-judge SC bench said Vedanta’s foreign units can bid for Nalco’s alumina tenders meant for exports.

The apex court further said if Vedanta’s bid is accepted, the company can use the raw material at its Jharsuguda plant after taking it from Visakhapatnam port.

Notably, Nalco had challenged an order pronounced by the Orissa High Court last year allowing Vedanta to take part in tenders for the sale of the State-run company’s surplus alumina.

Vedanta has an alumina refinery and a smelter in Lanjigarh. But the company’s plant lacks adequate bauxite supplies as Niyamgiri tribes stopped its bid to mine in the hills. The company is therefore forced to buy alumina from other local miners or import it.