Fifth gram sabha too votes against Niyamgiri mining

The fifth gram sabha on Niyamgiri bauxite mining project, held at Talberi village in Kalahandi district on Thursday, followed the pattern of the previous four gram sabhas and rejected the proposal outright, asserting socio-cultural and religious rights over the Niyamagiri hill.

Out of 15 eligible voters, 14 persons with equal number of male and female were present in the gram sabha, held amid tight security, under the supervision of the additional district judge (vigilance) P K Jena.

Dongaria Kondh tribes residing in the village told the meeting that their religious and socio-cultural rights would be severely affected, if bauxite mining project is allowed at the top of Niyamgiri hill.

“Our livelihood will be robbed as we depend on the hill. It gives us life and we worship it every day”, said Gata Majhi and Jilu Majhi of the village.  

In the last 4 gram sabhas-two in Rayagada and two in Kalahandi, the villagers had disapproved the plan of mining in the hill range.

Seven more gram sabhas-five in Rayagada and two in Kalahandi districts would be held in phases before the completion of the process on August 19 to decide the fate of bauxite mining to feed Vedanta Alumina’s’s one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.

The next two gram sabhas in Kalahandi district will be held at Phuldumer (July 29) and Ijurupa (July 30). Similarly in Rayagada district, the next gram sabhas will be held at Batudi (July 27), Lamba (August 1), Lakhapadara (August 8), Khambesi (August 13) and Karapada (August 19).

The anti-mining activists were elated over the rejection of bauxite mining plan in the Niyamagiri hill by the Dongaria Kondhs, while the pro-industry activities alleged that the tribal people were influenced by the outside activists.