Orissa yet to take a call on AG's views on Niyamgiri mines

The state government is yet to take a call on the Orissa Advocate General's suggestion to approach the Supreme Court challenging the environment ministry's decision to cancel the Stage-II forest clearance for Vedanta's Niyamgiri Project.

"The Advocate General has given his views on bauxite mining at Niyamgiri and it is under scrutiny by the state government. We are yet to decide whether we will approach the Supreme Court against the Centre's decision to cancel Stage-II forest clearance for the project," Raghunath Mohanty, minister for industries and steel & mines told newspersons.

Earlier, OMC had sought legal opinion of the Advocate General on the issue.

The corporation had questioned as to how the ministry could reject the Stage-II forest clearance when the Supreme Court of India had already given its nod to the bauxite mining project.

On August 24, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had rejected the Stage-II forest clearance based on recommendations of the four-member Saxena committee.

The ministry felt mining at the Niyamgiri hills would severely impact wildlife in the region. The ministry had observed that mining operations would strip off more than seven square kms of the Niyamgiri hill top and would drastically alter the region's water supply, severely affecting both ecological systems and human communities.

Besides, the ministry held that mining would lead to loss of forest cover, thereby affecting the two tribal groups, Dongaria and Kutia Kondh, who are heavily dependent on forest produce for their livelihood.