No Dongria Kondha Tribe Live At The Proposed Mining Area Of Lanjigarh
The State Government of Orissa on 18th November 2009, defended proposed mining at Niyamgiri Hills in Kalahandi district of Orissa and stated that 'Not a single tribal family would be displaced due to this mining project.'
Tweet-- The State Government of Orissa on 18th November 2009, defended proposed mining at Niyamgiri Hills in Kalahandi district of Orissa and stated that 'Not a single tribal family would be displaced due to this mining project.' Mr. Raghunath Mohanty, the Minister of Steel and Mines, Government of Orissa, stated this in the entire House, while replying a question raised by the BJP MLA Mr. Hitesh Bagarti in the State Assembly. He informed the House that there is a proposal to give permission to the State owned Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for mining activities at Niyamgiri hills.The Minister also said that "No Dongria Kondha tribe live at the proposed mining area of Lanjigarh located between Rayagada and Kalahandi districts."
The mining project at Niyamgiri is aimed at supplying bauxite to the alumina refinery of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) at Lanjigarh, District Kalahandi, Orissa. Adding further, the Minister said, due steps are being taken for the welfare of the Dongria and Kutia tribes living on periphery of the Niyamgiri Hills. For this purpose, the government has constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the name of Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LDADF), with contribution of State Government as 25%, Orissa Mining Corporation as 26% and Sterlite Industries Ltd as 49%, as directed by the Supreme Court. The Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) - Southern Division is the Chairman of the Special Purpose Vehicle which on its first meeting itself decided to take up development projects worth Rs. 17.70 crore in the areas of health, education, road, infrastructure development that are required for the upliftment of Dongria and Kutia Kondha tribes, the Minister added.
Earlier, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, while granting permission vide the judgement dated August 8, 2008, had looked all aspects including tribal development, wild life impact, environment impact, and sustainable development in the area connected with this project, taking into account all arguments, and came to the conclusion that starting mining operation at Niyamgiri Hills, subject to fulfilment of all statutory requirement, will definitely give a boost to the development of the entire area. Since mining is an important source of revenue generation, such projects should be encouraged along with principle of sustainable development so that these areas can be brought to the main line, the Hon'ble Court had observed.
The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India also observed that there is abject poverty in the area and the area is lacking with regards to health, education, infrastructure, communication, to name a few. On the recommendation of the apex court, the Company agreed for investing 5% of the profit or Rs. 10 crore, which ever is more, from this project, for the developmental works within 50 km of the project area.
Vedanta has been saying this all along that bauxite is a hard rock that exists above 900 metres from the surface and therefore the Niyamgiri hills are neither crop nor inhabitants-friendly. A number of vested interests have been misguiding the world but the statement by the Minister in the assembly is an authentication of the reality that exists in Niyamgiri and should be good enough for them to understand now and put an end to flow of such information.
Vedanta's CSR initiatives have already been impacting the lives of over 2.5 million people living in 427 villages in the areas of education, health & hygiene, livelihood, nutrition to children, agriculture development, infrastructure development, women empowerment, training of rural youth, development of self-help groups, and integrated village development programmes, to name a few. The initiatives are bringing credible changes in the living standards of people living in the rural areas and over all development of the villages.
The bauxite-alumina project at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district in Orissa would initiate investment of over Rs. 10,000 crore by Vedanta. Over 5000 local people have worked to build the Lanjigarh Plant. Kalahandi district of Orissa is one of the most backward district in India and the project is expected to change the profile of the entire district bringing considerable direct and indirect employment, infrastructure development, community development, social-economic development and empowerment.
Mines are generally located in the remote areas and development of such projects not only bring prosperity of that area but also add considerable value to the State's exchequer.
India is a mineral rich country and at par with countries like Canada, Australia, South Africa and Brazil. The minerals have contributed significantly to the GDP's of these countries and have become alternative source of revenue to the government. The same model should work for India as well.