Bhubaneswar : With its hopes to source bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills for its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh dashed, Vedanta Resources has applied for laterite deposits to run the plant till bauxite becomes available. However, it is unlikely to get the deposits as there is no policy for leasing out such areas at the moment. “Presently, there is no policy for leasing out laterite- rich land to private companies”, a senior official of the state’s steel and mines department told FE. He said the state needs to formulate such a policy. Vedanta Aluminium, a group company of Vedanta Resources, has applied for lease of 113 hectare of laterite- rich land in villages of Panabara, Sagabari and Arotokoni under Kasipur block of the Rayagada district. On August 2 , the Koraput deputy director of mines (DDM), SP Nanda, forwarded the application to the district administration, which is expected to send its recommendation to the directorate of mines and the department of steel and mines soon. “We have some experience in extracting bauxite from laterite in Andhra Pradesh,” Vedanta Aluminium president and COO Mukesh Kumar told FE. “Though this extraction is not economically encouraging, we have no other way than to look at all kinds of alternative sources for the raw material,” he added. Mining experts say laterite soil carries 20-25% bauxite. Vedanta Aluminium is currently running its plant at 60% capacity, with bauxite sourced from Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. But the cost of transportation from far-off places makes the entire operation unviable, one of the reasons the company is bleeding. Meanwhile, gram sabhas in 10 out of 12 villages have been completed, with all the villages so far turning down the Niyamgiri mining project on the ground that it would hurt their religious sentiments and destroy their livelihood. The gram sabha in the remaining two villages would be held before August 19. The state government has obtained an extension from the Supreme Court to complete the gram sabhas by August 19.