Bhubaneswar, Dec 19 (IANS): Vedanta Aluminium Ltd. (VAL) is planning to lay off employees at its alumina refinery in Odisha's Kalahandi district shut since Dec 5 due to non-availability of bauxite, an official said Wednesday.

"We are considering retrenching some people after consultation with state authorities as the revival of the plant in near future appears remote," the official, who did not want to be named, told IANS.

The number of people likely to be axed could be 10 to 100, depending on the conditions, he said.

The one million tonnes a year refinery in Lanjigarh, nearly 500 km from here, has about 550 regular staff members.

The plant provided indirect employment to thousands, he said.

Those engaged indirectly in the plant, especially in bauxite handling, are already without jobs since the closure of the plant, he said.

VAL is an associate company of Vedanta Resources Plc. It was running the refinery by sourcing bauxite from other states since it was yet to operate the mine earmarked for the plant.

The company entered into a supply arrangement with state-run Odisha Mining Corporation that was to supply bauxite from nearby Niyamgiri hills. But the matter is mired in litigation.

The company has also applied for several other bauxite reserves in the state, but none of them have materialised so far. After facing frequent raw material shortages, the company shut the refinery Dec 5.