Vedanta Hatao!

 

 

The legal battle between the champions of development and environment has taken a fretful turn as the Supreme Court asked the Centre to conduct a comprehensive study on the effects of large-scale mining activities on the ecology and lives of tribals in the Kalahandi-Koraput region of Orissa, also the area where UK based Vedanta is setting up an alumina refinery. A special bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest to submit its report within four weeks of conducting the study.

Vedanta’s Rs 4,000 crore alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district is already on a test run. To cater to this project, the company has entered into an agreement with Orissa Mining Corporation to exploit bauxite from mines allotted to it in the Niyamgiri hills, which are covered with dense forests and are home to the Dongaria Kandha tribe. A number of endangered species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act can be found in Niyamgiri’s dense Sal forests.

The Apex Court has been hearing the case ever since local groups and wildlife activists challenged the company’s mining plan, arguing that it would displace tribal people and destroy the area’s unique flora and fauna. Vedanta disagrees. “This is the poorest area in the country; people are forced to eat roots and leaves to survive. There are absolutely no opportunities for employment. The locals would welcome the project with open arms,” said Vedanta’s counsel, K.K. Venugopal.

The court’s fresh refusal to grant mining rights in Niyamgiri has come as consolation for the activists of Green Kalahandi and Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti. These organisations had been spearheading a mass movement since 2004 to protect the forest, land and water of this area. Their slogan was: Vedanta Hatao. Green Kalahandi’s convener, and former Central Minister, Bhakta Charan Das, said, “The Central Empowered Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court earlier, already recommended against granting mining rights. Instead of appointing committees, the Supreme Court’s bench should sit here and see how the livelihood of lakhs of tribals is at stake.”