Vedanta ran a “covert” lobbying campaign to weaken key environmental regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said in an article on Thursday.
In January 2021, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal told former environment minister Prakash Javadekar the government could add “impetus” to India’s economic recovery by allowing mining companies to boost production by up to 50% without having to secure new environmental clearances, the OCCRP said.
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, the report said.
