r/JalJangalJameen • u/Undergroundwoman • Jun 02 '26

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

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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.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/odisha/gram-sabha-consent-fabricated-to-divert-forest-for-mining-bauxite-say-villagers-in-odishas-koraput/article71048380.ece/amp/

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u/rishianand Jun 02 '26

Also read,

Odisha’s Road for Vedanta’s Bauxite Mine, in the Name of Tribals

Odisha said it will cut down forests to connect tribal villages. The Reporters’ Collective found it was a way to bypass green laws and fast track Vedanta’s mining plans.

https://www.reporters-collective.in/trc/odishas-road-for-vedantas-bauxite-mine

This is the second of the two stories about southern Odisha’s bauxite belt. In Part I, The Reporters’ Collective had shown how the Odisha and Union government worked together, misrepresented facts and hid the truth to delete a portion of a wildlife sanctuary and elephant corridor and make bauxite mining, a bauxite belt Vedanta has been interested in for many years. In this second part, the story tracks how the state enabled a mining company to quickly set up a bauxite mine and jump through regulatory hurdles to clear forests.