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After a five year struggle by tribal people, the Indian government has given the go ahead for a controversial mine planned by UK company Vedanta which will destroy a sacred mountain that is the ancestral home to thousands of people.
Image © Firoz Ahman Firoz / ActionAid (www.actionaid.org.uk)
Niyamgari Action Updates
There has been a fair amount of activity in Niyamgiri this year, as reported by ActionAid:
On 17 January at 3am, under cover of night, Vedanta started moving heavy trucks and digging equipment to the top of the mountain, stopped only by a blockade by the tribal people.
This followed a statement earlier in the month by Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta, that the mine building will start within 6-8 weeks.
On 28 January, over 20,000 tribal men and women created a human chain 17km in length to show their that they do not want the mine.
This serves to illustrate how time is ticking and ActionAid predicts that such actions by the tribal groups will escalate in response.
UK campaigners must comment on the behaviour of a British company overseas, and ActionAid is therefore asking the High Commissioner that the UK and India work together to set new standards of corporate behaviour. Take Action Now
Image © Firoz Ahman Firoz / ActionAid (www.actionaid.org.uk)
People from London and America can help us fight this. You are the hope. If Niyamgiri goes then what will we do?
Kondh tribal elder
In a document dated 28th April, The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave the environmental go-ahead to British listed company Vedanta to start mining. The notification states a period of 30 days to file an appeal against this clearance on environmental grounds but full-scale mining could start at any time .
Bratindi Jena, head of ActionAid’s work on tribal rights said:
The environmental go ahead to mine the Niyamgiri hill held sacred by Kondh indigenous community has come as a shock. The tribal people have been campaigning against the project and mining. They are totally against this mine which will destroy their way of life.
The Kondh tribe lead a self-sufficient life nurturing the forest-covered region and relying on it for their food, culture and medicines. They also worship the mountain as their god.
Kumti Majhi a tribal leader part of the Niyamgiri Surksha Samiti said:
We did not get any notice of this clearance. It has happened in a very underhand way. Just three days before this notification, a public hearing was held to seek go ahead for the expansion of Vedanta refinery in Lanjigarh.
We cannot live without our god mountain and the forest and we will continue our peaceful struggle. It is a life and death battle and Kondh people are united on this.
Vedanta Resources plc, a British mining company, plan to build an open-pit mine for bauxite (a raw form of aluminum) in the area. Official reports have suggested the mine will lead to massive deforestation, threaten key water sources, endangered animals and destroy local ecosystems.
Please stand alongside the Kondh people to support their campaign. In the UK, you can add your support by sending an email to the Indian High Commissioner in London, appealing for the project to be halted.
Take Action Now with ActionAid
Find out more about the background to this case.
