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Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 36, August 28, 2010

Illegalitity of Vedanta’s Niyamgiri Mining Project is Well Established

Thursday 2 September 2010, by Bharat Dogra

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This article was written before the latest landmark decision of the Centre rejecting environmental clearance to the Vedanta group’s $ 1.7 billion bauxite mining project in Orissa’s Niyamgiri hills with Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh citing serious violations of the Environment Protection Act 1966, Forest Counservation Act 1980 and Forest Rights Act 2006 by both the Orissa Government
and Vedanta in this regard.

The four-member committee headed by N.C. Saxena should be congratulated for exposing the many illegal and unethical aspects of Vedanta’s proposed Niyamgiri Mining Project in Orissa. However, it needs to be pointed out that the illegality of this project was well-established even before this panel submitted its report. This is evident from the report the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) (constituted by the Supreme Court) submitted in 2005.

In its ‘observations and conclusions’ the CEC drew attention to several important aspects of this project and its execution. In the notice dated June 6, 2002, issued for the land acquisition for the alumina refinery project by the Collector, Kalahandi, it was mentioned that

lands for compensatory afforestation shall be provided at other places in lieu of 118 acres of existing village forest coming inside of project area.

On this basis the CEC had drawn attention to the fact that the State Government even at that early date was aware about the involvement of forest land in the project. Yet in the application dated March 19, 2003 filed by Messers Sterlite (parent company of Messers Vedanta) for seeking environmental clearance for the project it was stated that nil forest land is required for the alumina factory and that within a radius of 10 km of the project site there is no forest, which is not correct.

Later though a proposal for the use of 59 hectares forest land for this project was pending before the MoEF, the environmental clearance for the alumina refinery was accorded by it on September 22, 2004 stating that “the project does not involve diversion of forest land”.

In the words of the CEC,

Had the guidelines issued by the MoEF been followed, or the environmental wing of the MoEF had taken cognisance about the involvement of the forest land in the Project or if Messers Vedanta had furnished the correct information in its application for the environmental clearance, the construction work on the alumina refinery would not have been started at all.

Pointing out another serious distortion in the environmental clearance of this project by the MoEF, the CEC had stated that normally this is accorded after assessing the environmental issues associated with the linked mining project. Initially the MoEF had stated explicitly that it’ll follow this normal procedure, but later, following a request by Messers Sterlite, the MoEF went out of its way to in effect delink the alumina refinery project and the mining project by granting the in-principle environmental clearance for the refinery project.

Criticising this decision the CEC said:

Such delinking is objectionable because the alumina refinery project has been located in Lanjigarh because of its proximity to the proposed mining site at Niyamgiri Hills, Lanjigarh. In the event, for the mining component the environmental clearance and/or the forest clearance is rejected, the expenditure of about Rs 4000 crores being incurred on the protect will become infructuous.

The illegality of the way the work on this project has proceeded will be evident from a reading of para 4.4 of the guidelines laid down by the MoEF:
Some projects involve use of forest land as well as non-forest land. State Governments/Project Authorities sometimes start work on non-forest land in anticipation of the approval of the Central Government for release of the forest lands required for the projects. Though the provisions of the Act may not have technically been violated by starting of work on non-forest lands, expenditure incurred on works on non-forest lands may prove to be infructuous if diversion of forest land involved is not approved. It has therefore been decided that if a project involves forest as well as non-forest land, work should not be started on non-forest land till approval of the Central Government for release of forest land under the Act has been given.

Examining the execution of this project in the light of these guidelines, the CEC concluded:

The Alumina Refinery construction work has started and continued in blatant violation of the above stated guidelines.

Later when this was exposed, quick-fix actions were initiated by Messers Vedanta (who said they don’t need 59 hectares of forest anyway for the refinery), the Orissa Government and the MoEF (who then gave the go-ahead to Messers Vedanta). All this was accomplished within five days, showing that vested interests work most efficiently when they have to cover-up their illegalities. It is another matter that all these desperate actions still left behind a trail of illegal acts. Among other things, it was pointed out by the CEC that
10.41 acres of the said land was found to have been encroached by Messers Vedanta by way of land breaking and levelling activities for which forest offence cases have been registered and show-cause notices have been issued by the Orissa Forest Department.

The CEC also summarised various objections filed by the applicants:
As per the applicants Niyamgiri Hills forms the source of the Vamsdhara river and a major tributary of the Nagvalli. Thirtysix streams originate from within the mining lease area. Most of these streams are perennial—due to springs originating just below the bauxite escarpment. These are used for irrigation as well as a source of drinking water by the people living in the adjoining villages. By mining of bauxite deposits at the top of Niyamgiri the water retention capacity of the bauxite deposit will be destroyed. The mining will lead to the flow of mineral overburden into the streams. In the process it will destroy the micro-niches along the streams.

...As per the applicants the location of the pond for the red mud, which is a mix of highly toxic alkaline chemicals and contains a cocktail of heavy metals including radio-active elements, and the Ash Pond on the Vamsdhara river may cause serious water pollution. The breach of the red mud and the ash pond may cause severe damages downstream. The potential for such an occurrence has not been properly assessed.

Finally, the CEC recommended:

The CEC is of the considered view that the use of the forest land in an ecologically sensitive area like the Niyamgiri Hills should not be permitted. The casual approach, the lackadaisical manner and the haste with which the entire issue of forests and environmental clearance for the alumina refinery project has been dealt with smacks of undue favour/leniency and does not inspire confidence with regard to the willingness and resolve of both the State Government and the MoEF to deal with such matters keeping in view the ultimate goal of national and public interest. In the instant case had a proper study been conducted before embarking on a project of this nature and magnitude involving massive investment, the objections to the project from environmental/ecological/forest angle would have become known in the beginning itself and in all probability the project would have been abandoned at this site.

Keeping in view all the facts and circumstances brought out in the preceding paragraphs it is recommended that this Hon’ble Court may consider revoking the environmental clearance dated September 22, 2004 granted by MoEF for setting up of the Alumina Refinery Plant by Messers Vedanta and directing them to stop further work on the project. This project may only be reconsidered after an alternative bauxite mine site is identified.

BAUXITE mining and aluminium extraction is generally known for its numerous adverse environmental impacts. Particularly troublesome is the disposal of alkaline mud (or ‘red mud’). Other problems are related to the release of caustic soda (used to extract alumina from raw bauxite) into the ground water, increasing sodium concentration in the water of wells.

Learning from the experience of a previous project, Felix Patel (an authropologist) and Sumarendra Das (a senior journalist) wrote recently:
This type of refinery is highly polluting. To comprehend the impact it would have on the local environment one has only to visit Damanjodi, 150 kms. away in Koraput district. This is Nalco’s refinery, next to its 20 km. long bauxite mine on the mountain of Panchpat Mali. The area for miles around already resembles a desert, and the tribal villages have faced cultural genocide. Among the worst pollutants of such factories are the fumes and the highly toxic waste product known as Red Mud, full of heavy metals, which invariably has a highly damaging effect on water sources.

In the case of the present project the possibilities of ecological and cultural disruption as well as adverse impacts on livelihood are all the more accentuated because of the sensitive ecology of the Niyamgiri region, the special cultural niche of the area and its very close integration with the life of the tribals and also because of the large-scale, mechanised open-cast mining involved in the project.

The Niyamgiri hills in the Eastern Ghats region have a very special place in the life and legends of Dongria Kondhas (a primitive tribe) who live here. The very identity of being a Dongria Kondha is linked up with residing and possessing land here and passing it on to posterity.

Along with Dongria Kondhas, the Niyamgiri hills are homes of Kutia Kondhas and Jharania Kondhas, all primitive tribal groups famed for their horticulture. They live in about 200 villages scattered throughout the hill range. All of them, as well as the Majhi Kondhs who live in the plains below, regard the Niyamgiri as sacred home, as their place of origin.

A report prepared by Environmental Protection Group on the ecological importance of this region says:

The rare indigenous tribes in Niyamgiri have developed, practised and nurtured their life and livelihood patterns with forest and wildlife forming a formidable system of mutual dependence.

The livelihood of Dongria Kondhas is closely related to the Niyamgiri forests. They collect various types of forest products and sell these at nearby weekly haats. Around 40 to 50 per cent of their annual income is obtained from the selling of forest products like siali leaves, myrobalans, amla etc. They grow fruits like pineapples under the thick forests. They aren’t at all known for hunting. The census for 2001 revealed that the total population of this tribe is 7952.

The cultural aspects are no less important. The Niyamgiri hills are highly valued for the religious lore associated with these. The proposed mining area at the top of the Niyamgiri hills is an extremely sacred place for Dongria Kondhas. Hence hunting or cutting trees on Niyamraja range is taboo for them. But if this area is blasted for mining then this will be a great cultural shock for these simple people.

It is very important to keep in mind this economic, ecological and cultural importance of the Niyamgiri hills in order to understand the disruptive impact of this project.

The author is currently a Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.

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