Karnataka clears Uranium Corp’s uranium processing application
18 Jul 2011
Chennai/ Bangalore: The Karnataka government has cleared the setting up of a uranium processing unit by the state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL)at Gogi village in Yadgir district of Karnataka.
The UCIL has found rich deposits of high-grade uranium (U235) at the village which is used to generate nuclear power. The state-owned firm commenced exploration for uranium ore in this village in 2007.
UCIL will invest Rs550 crore in the project.
The state high-level clearance committee (SHLCC) headed by Karnataka chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa, recently cleared the company's application for mining uranium and processing,
The deputy commissioner of Yadgir district recently issued the no-objection certificate to UCIL. However, the company is yet to be issued a mining lease by the government.
According to senior officials from the mining department the approval granted to UCIL is only a preliminary one. Before mining ta the site can commence an environment impact assessment report will have to be presented and approval sought from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), Government of India.