Rayagada villages may have gram sabhas in 15 days

Even as the state tribal affairs department dithers over widening scope of gram sabha proceedings to decide on bauxite excavation from Niyamgiri hills, the Rayagada district administration has served notices to the concerned sarpanchs to hold the assembly meetings in seven villages.

The gram sabhas in these villages under Muniguda and Kalyansinghpur blocks, will be held between July 18 and August 8, sources said.

The Kalahandi district administration, however, is yet to issue any notice for conducting the gram sabhas.

Earlier, the state government had taken a call to organise gram sabha meets in 12 villages on Niyamgiri hill slopes straddling across two districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada after an interpretation of the apex court order on bauxite mining at this sensitive location by its law department. The 12 villages identified included seven in Rayagada district and five in Kalahandi district.

But the state government's decision to limit gram sabhas to only 12 villages had invited criticism from the Union ministry of tribal affairs as well as social activists and local tribals. While the Central mines ministry said the decision was not in line with the apex court order, activists and locals had demanded holding of the gram sabhas in all the villages to be affected by the mining project.

In his latest letter to the Odisha Governor S C Jamir dated June 21, Union tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo had called for safeguarding the constitutional protection guaranteed to the tribals and inhabitants of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts which are located in Schedule V areas.

The Union minister had pointed out that the spiritual and emotional bonding of Dongaria Kondhs to Niyamgiri is not limited to only these 12 villages.