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Vedanta faces protests at AGM over ethical record

Wed, 2010-07-21

The Independent

The environmental and human rights record of the miner Vedanta Resources will be put under the spotlight during its annual meeting next week, when the India-based group will face protests from pressure groups and an attempt by activist shareholders to remove members of the board.

Vedanta, the world's biggest zinc producer, declined to comment yesterday on reports that the shareholder lobby group Pirc will propose the removal of Naresh Chandra, a non-executive director who chairs the London-listed group's health, safety and environment committee and its remuneration committee. Mr Chandra, a former Indian home secretary and ambassador to the United States, joined Vedanta's board in 2004. He was not available for comment yesterday.

Pirc, which also called on shareholders not to back the re-election of directors Euan McDonald and Aman Mehta, said: "The failure of the group to engage with explicit investor-led [environmental, social and governance] concerns over the impact of group activities... [is] evidence of a lack of competent oversight, in our view."