The company plans to further its production to 45,000 tons per day (tpd) from current 3,000 tpd at the mine in Vemula mandal in Kadapa district.
The group claims that the mining has had an adverse impact on the livelihood including steep drop in the groundwater tables and drying up of hundreds of bores across the nearby villages in Vemula mandal.
Meanwhile, the company has called for a public hearing on 30 May 2013 to acknowledge the opinion of the local people and environmental activists before proceeding with the expansion. HRF, nevertheless, is planning to boycott the hearing.
Also, the group has urged the authorities to overturn the environment license given by Union ministry of environment and forests in February 2007 and hold the operations at the mine.
In a statement, HRF president S Jeevan Kumar and general secretary VS Krishna Kumar has urged the government to stop expansion at the mine.
"The mining activity will not only impact the livelihood and health of people in the vicinity but also those living as far away as Chennai, which receives drinking water from Telugu Ganga," they added.
"The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, which is the basis for holding the May 30 public hearing, is a sham and riddled with a number of inconsistencies and misrepresentations. It fails to address adequately the environmental impact related to pollution caused by the mining and processing, and pollution caused by waste disposal."
