Final gram sabha for Niyamgiri mining

The last gram sabha to decide the fate of bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri hills will take place on Monday at Jarapa village in Rayagda district.

Like past 11 village meetings, the voters will record their views whether the mining project would affect their religious right to worship Niyam Raja, their revered deity, whose abode is 10 Kms from the mining site.  The village has about 16 voters out of whom 10 are females. The meeting, convened by local forest right committee chairman, will be held under the supervision of Rayagada district judge.  

Tribals in all the 11 villages of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, where gram sabhas were held earlier, have voted against the mining project, saying it would affect their livelihood and religious sentiments. The voting exercise is being conducted as per the direction of the Supreme Court in April this year.  

The result of the voting, which will have a bearing on the final report of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) is likely to jeopardise the investment of Vedanta's alumina refining project in Kalahandi district.