Gram Sabha consent fabricated to divert forest for mining bauxite, say villagers in Odisha’s Koraput

Key Takeaways

• Amidst the sustained protests against bauxite mining in Sijimali hills, villagers in Odisha’s Koraput district have now said that the Gram Sabhas that cleared an Adani-linked firm to mine bauxite from Balda Hill in the Nageswari forest reserve were “fraudulently” held and that the resolutions clearing the mining contain forged signatures of villagers who are dead, were paralysed or injured, or simply absent on the day.
• The villagers have now alleged that, despite lodging a detailed complaint months ago in February, the police have not yet registered an FIR against Kalinga Alumina Limited, the panchayat, and district officials, whom they accuse of colluding to divert 157.2 hectares of forest land over which they had traditional and spiritual rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• The local police and the office of the Superintendent of Police in Koraput were unavailable for a comment.
• Similar complaints have emerged from the ongoing agitation in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, where villagers have accused the Vedanta Group, and the same Adani-linked firm Kalinga Alumina and officials of conspiring to forge signatures on Gram Sabha resolutions to divert forests for mining bauxite from Sijimali hills and the nearby Kutrumali bauxite reserve.
• In Koraput district, Kalinga Alumina Limited obtained the Stage-I Forest Clearance from the Environment Ministry to mine the Balda Hill bauxite reserve in December 2024, with one of the key conditions requiring that processes related to identifying and vesting of rights under the Forest Rights Act be completed and consent obtained from the Gram Sabhas concerned for the diversion of forest land under the law.