Where gods must be dazed...

A woman from the Dongria Kondh tribe collects firewood

Kumar Sambhav S & Anupam Chakravartty: Business Standard

In February, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) took many by surprise when it opposed a mining project in Odisha's Niyamgiri hills in the Supreme Court solely on the ground of violation of tribals' religious rights. Extracting bauxite from the region would violate the fundamental right of a particularly vulnerable tribe, Dongria Kondh, which considers Niyamgiri as the abode of their deity Niyam Raja, MoEF said. Till then, MoEF had maintained violation of environmental laws as the reason for cancelling clearance of the project by Vedanta in 2010.

Dangaria tribes demand gram sabha in 104 villages

Business Line

Reuter

A delegation of Dangaria Kondh tribes today met the Odisha Governor SC Jamir and registered its opposition to the state government’s plan to hold gram sabhas in only 12 villages of Niyamgiri Hills to arrive at a decision on proposed bauxite mining for the Vedanta refinery.

“We urged the governor to intervene in the matter as the state government has already asked district administrations of Rayagada and Kalahandi to hold gram sabha in the 12 villages,” said Kumuti Majhi, the president of the Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti (NSS), the apex body of the agitating tribals.

Majhi, along with others, told Jamir that all tribals who have a sentimental attachment with Niyamgiri Hills should get a chance to share their views on the bauxite mining proposal.

“NSS demands gram sabhas in all the 104 villages spread over Rayagada and Kalahandi districts,” Majhi told reporters after meeting the Governor.

Majhi also said that the local tribals have no faith in the state government which they alleged was working in the interests of Vedanta.

Earlier, the Union ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) had also objected to the state government’s decision to hold gram sabhas in only 12 villages.

In a letter to Odisha chief secretary BK Patnaik, MoTA secretary Vibha Puri Das had said that limiting the number of gram sabha meetings was not in accordance with the Supreme Court order.

“The list of villages where rights of the forest dwellers are guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) or where cultural and religious rights are likely to be affected cannot be arbitrarily decided by the state government,” Das had said in the letter.

“It is to be decided by the people... so that no genuine gram sabha which has a legitimate claim is left out of the process,” the letter added.

When contacted, Patnaik said: “The state government is examining the MoTA letter. We will take a decision on holding gram sabha at Niyamgiri Hills after examining all angles.”

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Odisha gears up for gram sabhas at Niyamgiri

Business Standard

The Odisha SC & ST department will instruct the district administration of Kalahandi and Rayagada soon to initiate work at the field level for conduct of gram sabhas for deciding the fate of bauxite mining at Niyamgiri hills.

Despite the Supreme Court (SC) verdict dated April 18, the state government is yet to start the process for holding village assembly meetings, citing lack of clarity in the order. Now, after receipt of views from the law department, the SC & ST department is gearing up to hold gram sabhas in 12 villages on Niyamgiri hill slopes.