Rayagada: The public hearing for Sijimali bauxite mining project proposed in Odisha’s Rayagada district concluded amid protests on Monday.
As per the guidelines of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Regional Officer of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) organised the public hearing at Trinath Dev High School in Sunger under Kashipur block of the district.
Over 600 villagers, who attended the meeting, conveyed their support and put forward their grievances. The public hearing, which continued for over one and a half hours, was presided by Additional Collector Rameswar Pradhan.
According to sources, security was tightened for the public hearing where the affected villagers of Kantamal, Bundel and Sirambai opposed the project, stating that it would pollute the environment. Five 5 platoons of police force were deployed to maintain law and order.
However, the administration also received support letters for the project, which they believe would bring in development and also provide employment opportunities to the local people.
Pradhan said that all opinions collected in the meeting will be sent to the state government and further steps will be taken in accordance with the decision taken by the government. Regional Commissioner of OPSCB Ashok Kumar Bhoi was also present.
Sijimali Bauxite Mines, auctioned block by Odisha government in an area of 1,549.02 hectare with production capacity of 9 million tonne per annum (MTPA) has already been allotted to Vedanta Ltd on March 1, 2023 after a competitive bidding process.
The consent of the entire adult population of these villages through Gram Sabhas, however, is mandatory before exploiting their natural resources since the mining area is spread over, at least, 18 villages in theses districts classified under Schedule V in the Constitution due to the preponderance of the Adivasi population.
Notably, the Maoists had called upon the people to boycott the public hearing on Sunday. October 6, however, had also seen over 25,000 people, including women of 24 panchayats in Kashipur and Thuamul Rampur, joining a rally in Kashipur, supporting the proposed bauxite mining. They also submitted a memorandum addressed to the Odisha Governor in this regard.
Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Ltd, is a diversified global natural resources company with significant operations in oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, copper, iron ore, steel, and aluminium and power across India, South Africa and Namibia. It was declared as preferred bidder for Sijimali block with an estimated reserves of 311 million tonnes of bauxite in February this year. This mine has life of 31 years.
Sources added that Vedanta has to get a forest clearance too since the mining lease area includes 699.7 hectares of forest land. It had written to the Odisha government on March 9 demanding suitable land for compensatory afforestation against the forestland it has proposed to clear for the project. It also has to prepare a plan for wildlife conservation since two villages affected by the project fall within the notified eco-sensitive zone of the Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary.
Since the mining project is likely to displace 100 families from 18 villages and also affect livelihoods of an additional 500 families, Vedanta has to prepare a rehabilitation and resettlement plan for them.
On the other hand, multibillion-dollar conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging Orissa High Court’s March 2 order that disentitled it from obtaining the block’s mining lease, which it had been holding for more than three decades.
