New Delhi: Vedanta Limited‘s 9 MTPA Sijimali bauxite mining project is facing delays with the Union Environment Ministry deferring a decision on its proposal to divert over 700 hectares of forest land in Odisha‘s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts due to concerns over community consent and ecological impact.
Anil Agarwal’s London-headquartered company declared as the preferred bidder for the block, which is estimated to hold 311 million tonnes of reserves, during an auction in March 2023. It plans to mine nine million tonnes of bauxite annually for 31 years. Accordingly, it sought clearance from the Union government in April 2025 for diverting 564.58 hectares in the Rayagada forest division and 143.62 hectares in the Kalahandi (South) division from a total leasehold area of 1,548.78 hectares.
According to the proposal, the mine is needed to partly meet the raw material demand of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, which operates at six million tonnes per annum capacity. It also involves the displacement of 100 families from Malipadar in Rayagada and Tijamali in Kalahandi.
FAKE CONSENT?
The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), in its August 25 meeting, noted that Odisha had submitted reports from the district collectors certifying due procedure in obtaining Gram Sabha resolutions under the Forest Rights Act. It, however, added that the reports did not address concerns raised by villagers and petitioners before the Orissa High Court, the PTI reported.
Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, it is mandatory to obtain prior consent of local communities reliant on these forests for their livelihoods through Gram Sabhas. However, locals claim that resolutions indicating their consent were “fraudulently” obtained during Gram Sabha meetings allegedly held on December 8, 2023, while subsequent Gram Sabhas in 2024 opposed forest diversion.
On March 5, 2025, a division bench of the High Court ordered the Union government to consider claims of local communities over forest rights before approving Vedanta Group’s plan to divert forestland. “The submission is recorded for being noted by the Union of India in dealing with the proposal made by the user agency [Vedanta Limited], upon taking into confidence inhabitants of concerned villages, through the Gram Sabhas and otherwise. Petitioners have pointed out their rights under the Act of 2006 as provided under section 3 [right to live in forest land, community rights, rights over minor forest produce, etc.]. We reiterate, the Union of India must take note.”
ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS
The FAC also flagged ecological concerns regarding the proposed mining in an area of tropical dry deciduous forests, dominated by sal trees and mixed species, which serves as an elephant habitat. It instructed the state to consult Project Elephant for input. It further noted the mining zone’s vulnerability to soil erosion due to steep slopes, vegetation loss, and blasting and directed the state to provide a comprehensive mitigation plan.
On compensatory afforestation, the state has proposed 724 hectares of non-forest land in Rayagada and Kalahandi against the 708 hectares sought for diversion. Since 8.08 hectares of this overlap with land already earmarked for another mining project in Dubna-Sakradihi, the panel sought clarification on the same.
The panel also observed that many of the proposed sites showed signs of shifting cultivation and village paths and directed Odisha to provide site-wise reports proving they are free of encroachment.
VEDANTA CLAIMS MINIMAL IMPACT
Vedanta asserted that mining will be confined largely to sparsely vegetated hilltops, with valleys left untouched and developed as green belts. It has also agreed to fund a wildlife conservation plan for the 10-km impact zone (Rs 34.44 crore) and compensatory afforestation (over Rs 107 crore).
However, the FAC emphasised that the state must first address gaps related to High Court directives, ecological safeguards, afforestation overlap, and local community concerns before the proposal can proceed.
The mining lease of the Sijimali block is spread over a massive area of 1,548.79 hectares across 18 villages in Thuamul Rampur and Kashipur tenshils in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, respectively. It has faced protests from tribal communities, who fear loss of forests, water streams, and livelihoods.
While Vedanta is yet to react on the recent development, repeated attempts by Odisha Bytes for the company’s version elicited no response.