By Soumik Dey
From a distance, the hills of Niyamgiri look like giant pillars, jutting out of the dense green cover beneath. As you get closer, you can see perennial streams gurgling around the tall sal trees, carrying bauxite-rich water from a network of interconnected aquifers to the valleys below and further down to the vast expanse of agricultural fields.
The Niyamgiri hills, near Hundaljali in Kalahandi district of Odisha,
have become the epicentre of anti-mining protests. Around the hills are green bajra fields and small huts of the Dongriya Kondh and other tribes—the original inhabitants of Dandakaranya forests—who fear losing the forests and agricultural land, once the mining starts.
have become the epicentre of anti-mining protests. Around the hills are green bajra fields and small huts of the Dongriya Kondh and other tribes—the original inhabitants of Dandakaranya forests—who fear losing the forests and agricultural land, once the mining starts.
There are rich bauxite reserves underneath these hills. The area is earmarked for mining by the Odisha government for supplying bauxite to Vedanta Aluminium Ltd, a subsidiary of the Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Resources. Vedanta has already invested $1 billion for an aluminium refining and smelting plant in Lanjigarh, in Kalahandi district. Under an agreement with Vedanta, the government is required to provide raw material to the plant for the next 20 years.
However, the Niyamgiri hills are worshipped by the tribals as their god ‘Niyamraja' or the law-giver. “He is invoked in our spirit by just breathing in the presence of these hills,” said Sana Sikaka, a 27-year-old tribal activist from the neighbouring Jharapa village, one of the many villages that would be affected by the mining.
On April 18, while disposing of a petition filed by Vedanta, the Supreme Court ordered that the opinion of the tribal people should be sought before starting mining in the region. The court wanted to know whether mining in the Niyamgiri hills would constitute an infringement of the religious and cultural rights of the tribals.
After dragging its feet for three months, the government finally announced the gram sabha meetings in 12 villages of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts from July 18. Anti-mining activists, however, opposed the move to limit the number of villages to be surveyed to 12. They said Niyamraja was worshipped in more than 100 villages in the region and, by excluding them, the government was going against the spirit of the apex court's order. This view is supported by the Union ministry of tribal affairs as well. In the seven villages where the gram sabha meetings were held so far, the tribals have overwhelmingly rejected mining.
The last gram sabha meeting, according to the government's schedule, will be held on August 19 and with that, the government hopes to decide the fate of a dense forest spread across 670 hectares, covering four hills, in two districts. “Our temple is made of trees and stones. These hills have provided us with vegetables, fruits, animals to hunt, shelter and water, everything we need, forever,” said Prafulla Samantra, leader of the National Alliance for People's Movement (NAPM) and one of the original petitioners who had moved the Supreme Court against mining. Samantra has also written to Odisha Governor S.C. Jamir, highlighting the plight of the tribals and how they are denied their traditional rights. “We are neglected by the government to serve the interests of Vedanta,” he said.
The last gram sabha meeting, according to the government's schedule, will be held on August 19 and with that, the government hopes to decide the fate of a dense forest spread across 670 hectares, covering four hills, in two districts. “Our temple is made of trees and stones. These hills have provided us with vegetables, fruits, animals to hunt, shelter and water, everything we need, forever,” said Prafulla Samantra, leader of the National Alliance for People's Movement (NAPM) and one of the original petitioners who had moved the Supreme Court against mining. Samantra has also written to Odisha Governor S.C. Jamir, highlighting the plight of the tribals and how they are denied their traditional rights. “We are neglected by the government to serve the interests of Vedanta,” he said.
Vedanta officials and critics of the movement, however, said they suspected a foreign hand behind the protests. “The Amnesty International is funding these people,” said an official. The company said it had incurred a loss of Rs.2,000 crore, apart from Rs.150 crore it spent towards resettlement and rehabilitation of those affected by the plant. According to company officials, the new plant in Niyamgiri is more energy efficient and technologically advanced. “Technology used in our refinery requires less energy and chemicals,” said a Vedanata spokesperson.
Calling the gram sabha meetings "a sham", Vedanta officials said they were collecting evidence to show that the activists were trying to influence the tribals. They also suspect a Maoist hand. “The Maoists threaten those who work with us,” said an official. However, on ground zero, journalists and activists complained about police oppression. Video clippings of police attacking tribal women and smashing cameras of journalists can be found on the web.
Local officials said they were strictly following the instructions of the government. “The presence of a district judge at these gram sabha meetings requires adequate security as mandated by protocol. Police barricades are used only to prevent people from other villages entering the gram sabha meetings. We are going by the latest voters' list,” said Sashi Bhushan Padhi, district magistrate of Rayagada.
Once the gram sabha meetings of the 12 villages get over by August 19, more than 100 tribal and non-tribal villages are planning to conduct their own gram sabha meetings, independent of the administration. “The narrow definition of the project-affected people by the government runs contrary to the letter and spirit of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Just because they do not live in the hills does not mean that they have no rights there,” said Naresh Saxena, a former bureaucrat, who as part of an expert group conveyed this point to the Supreme Court in 2010.
The next step for the anti-mining activists is to apprise the Supreme Court and the Union environment ministry that mining in the Niyamgiri region will affect the religious sentiments of more than 100 villages comprising 10,000 people, and not just 12 villages with 500 people. Meanwhile, production problems at the refinery are likely to continue even as Vedanta plans to move ahead with the project.
Survival at stake
* Dongriya Kondhs are part of the Kondh tribe, one of the primitive tribal groups in Odisha
* Estimated population is 10,000
* Normally living at altitudes above 5,000ft in the Niyamgiri hills
* Estimated sex ratio is 1,352 females for 1,000 males
* Literacy rate is less than 10 per cent (3 per cent among women)
* The tribe is endogamous, patrilineal and patriarchal
* They rely on hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation in the Niyamgiri hills
* Dongriya Kondhs are part of the Kondh tribe, one of the primitive tribal groups in Odisha
* Estimated population is 10,000
* Normally living at altitudes above 5,000ft in the Niyamgiri hills
* Estimated sex ratio is 1,352 females for 1,000 males
* Literacy rate is less than 10 per cent (3 per cent among women)
* The tribe is endogamous, patrilineal and patriarchal
* They rely on hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation in the Niyamgiri hills
Nature's bounty* Niyamgiri has 72 million tonnes of bauxite reserves
* Three tonnes of bauxite is needed to produce one tonne of alumina and two tonnes of alumina is required to produce one tonne of aluminium
* Thus, approximately 12 million tonnes of aluminium can be produced from Niyamgiri's bauxite reserves
* One tonne of aluminium is worth approximately Rs.1.3 lakh
* So, the total value of aluminium will be approximately Rs.156,000 crore
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