Fourth gram sabha too rejects Niyamgiri mining plan

The villagers of Kunakeda, a Dongaria Kondh village in Kalahandi district, today unanimously rejected the proposal for mining in Niyamgiri, claiming community and religious rights over the entire hill range.

It was the fourth out of 12 palli sabhas to be held in Rayagada (7 villages) and Kalahandi (5 villages) districts.

In the last three palli sabhas-two in Rayagada and one in Kalahandi, the villagers had disapproved the plan of bauxite mining in this hill range. The next palli sabha will be held at Talberi in Kalahandi district tomorrow.

'Niyamgiri, the abode of Niyama Raja, is like the Puri Jagannath temple for us. The hill range belongs to us. We can’t leave it at any cost”, said Tanguru Majhi, the village head at the meeting conveyed by the gram panchayat to decide the fate of bauxite mining project, which is crucial for sourcing raw material for Vedanta Aluminium’s one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.  

All 21 out of 22 voters, who attended the meeting, voiced their opposition to the mining project. As many as 11 male and 10 female voters were present in the meeting held under the supervision of additional district judge (vigilance), PK Jena. Ward member Sulochana Gouda presided.

The villagers in Kunakeda also rejected some of the claims presented by the officials claiming they were received under the Forest Rights Act (FRA). 'We have not sent these. You should record what we tell in the meeting in the presence of the judge”, said Sitari Majhi.

On April 18, the Supreme Court had said the local tribals living in Niyamgiri area would decide whether the proposed mining project there would cause harm to their religious right of worshipping Niyam Raja at Hundaljali, about 10-km from the identified mining site. All the 12 palli sabhas are scheduled to be completed on August 19.