Activists caution against efforts to revive bauxite mining in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), a pan-India platform of groups working to protect the environment, on Tuesday cautioned against what it described as “renewed efforts” to revive bauxite mining in Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills.

The NAPM was reacting to Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal’s recent statement that the Niyamgiri bauxite reserve, spread across Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, should be reopened for mining and that it would create jobs for the local tribal population.

Prafulla Samantara, winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2017, said the hills belong to the Dongria Kondh — a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group that has “historically protected and depended on the region’s natural resources”. “Neither Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal nor the State or Central governments can claim ownership over Niyamgiri. The State government must not dare to hand over Niyamgiri to Vedanta again,” he said.

Mr. Samantara said the group’s proposed Niyamgiri bauxite mining project was halted nearly 13 years ago following sustained opposition by tribal groups.

“People from all 112 villages in the affected region opposed the project. The Supreme Court made it clear that the question of whether mining could be undertaken in Niyamgiri had to be decided by the gram sabhas concerned. Following the direction, the gram sabhas of 12 Dongria Kondh villages unanimously rejected the project. These decisions must be respected,” he said.

Narendra Mohanty, the NAPM’s State convener, alleged that the recent arrest of Lada Sikaka, president of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, and the prolonged incarceration of Lingaraj Azad, an adviser to the organisation, in several cases are “part of a wider attempt to weaken the movement opposing corporate control over Niyamgiri”.

‘Legal safeguards’

Human rights activist Biswapriya Kanungo said the decisions by the gram sabhas have constitutional and statutory significance.

“The rights of Adivasi communities in Scheduled Areas are protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, and the Forest Rights Act. Vedanta had approached the Supreme Court and filed a review petition in 2016, but it was rejected,” he said.

In its statement, the NAPM said Niyamgiri is not merely a source of mineral wealth. “The bauxite-bearing mountain ecosystem plays a crucial role in sustaining rivers, including the Bansadhara and Nagavali. For the Dongria Kondh people, Niyamgiri is also a sacred landscape and is revered as the abode of their deity,” it read.