A day after the four member Central committee headed by N C Saxena urged the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) not to give approval to Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) for mining bauxite at the Niyamgiri hills, the state government has shot back, denying all allegations of the panel.
“There has been no violation of any law at the proposed mining lease area at Niyamgiri hills and whatever the state government has done is in accordance with the laws”, said state industries secretary, Raghunath Mohanty. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “The report submitted by the Saxena committee on proposed bauxite mining at Niyamgiri hills is being examined by the state government and appropriate action will be taken.”
“We have applied for Stage-II forest clearance for bauxite mining spread over Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. We are aware of the Saxena committee's recommendations to the MoEF but can comment only after the ministry announces its decision on the matter”, said a top official of Business Standard.The Saxena committee had urged MoEF not to give approval to Vedanta for mining bauxite at the Niyamgiri hills near its aluminium refinery project in Kalahandi district.
The committee is of the view that permitting bauxite mining would deprive two primitive tribal groups- Dongaria and Kutia Kondh of their rights over the proposed mining site in order to benefit a private company and shake the faith of the tribals in the laws of the land.
Besides, the committee has alleged that Vedanta has consistently violated the Forest Conservation Act, Forest Rights Act, Environment Protection Act and the Orissa Forest Act in active collusion with the state officials.
According to the report, the most blatant example of the violation is the company's act of illegally enclosing and occupying at least 26.123 hectares of village forest land within its refinery, depriving tribals, dalits and other rural poor of their rights. The committee, in its report has stated that the MoEF cannot grant clearance for use of forest land for non-forest purposes in the area because the legal conditions for this clearance as laid down in its circular of August 3, 2009 have not yet been met.
The panel has pointed out that the process of recognition of rights under the Forest Rights Act has not been completed, the consent of the concerned communities has neither been sought nor obtained and the gram sabhas of the area concerned have not certified on both these points as required.
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…writes to Centre
In response to the Saxena committee's report on allegations of Forest Rights Act at the proposed bauxite mining lease site at Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district, the Orissa government has shot off a letter to the Centre, denying all allegations. In this letter to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), U N Behera, principal secretary (environment and forest), Orissa government, has clarified that the Supreme Court had approved the aluminium refinery project of Vedanta Aluminium and there has been no violations of Forest Rights Act (FRA).
Stating that Orissa ranks second in the country in terms of implementation of FRA, Behera has pointed out in the letter that all actions of the state government pertaining to the refinery project has been in accordance with laws.The state government should be given an opportunity to present its facts before the Centre, he stated.