Niyamgiri bauxite mining logjam continues

Peeved over the Odisha government’s fresh bid to go for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills despite rejection by the Gram Sabhas, the Niyamgiri Suraksha Sangram Samiti has threatened to launch a big stir.

Tribals of Niyamgiri on Tuesday sought the intervention of Governor SC Jamir to stop the State Government from trying to convene gram sabha meetings again for bauxite mining in the hills, an area sacred for Dongoria Kondhs and other scheduled tribes.

Niyamgiri Suraksha Sangram Samiti and Lokshakti Abhijan, fighting for the rights of Dongoria Kondhs, submitted a memorandum to the Governor seeking his intervention in the matter as the chairman of Tribes Advisory Council (TAC).

The State government had last month petitioned the Supreme Court for holding a fresh Gram Sabha in the Niyamgiri area, an earlier attempt to get the nod of the village body was unsuccessful.

“We have urged the Apex Court to allow the State-owned Odisha Mining Corporation to undertake mining at Niyamgiri hills,” steel and mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick said on Wednesday.

Earlier in 2013, the State government had attempted bauxite mining at Niyamgiri to feed the Vedanta’s refinery established close to the hills. However, the proposal was dropped after the gram sabhas held in 12 villages that year had rejected it.