By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, June 2, 2026: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, who hails from Odisha, is under pressure over protests by villagers in Odisha’s Koraput district against alleged violations of the law to “bulldoze clearances” for bauxite mining by big corporate houses.

“The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs is responsible for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, both in letter and spirit, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out. “He himself is from Odisha. Surely, he should be concerned more about these protests and why they are taking place in different places in the state,” he added.

“The villagers claim collusion of the company and district officials to obtain gram sabha approvals in a brazenly fraudulent manner which has been brought to the notice of the authorities concerned. Kalinga Alumina is facing similar accusations in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts as well, as is Vedanta,” Ramesh claimed on X.

Villagers from Balda and Banur villages in Koraput district allege that Kalinga Alumina Limited, an Adani subsidiary, the panchayat, and district officials colluded to forge the signatures of dead, injured, and absent people on resolutions that consented to the mining. They also alleged that the Gram Sabhas that cleared an Adani-linked firm to mine bauxite from Balda Hill in the Nageswari forest reserve were “fraudulently” held and that the resolutions clearing the mining contain forged signatures of villagers who are dead, were paralysed or injured, or simply absent on the day.

The Congress on Tuesday lashed out at the Modi government and said the tribal minster should be concerned as to why such agitations are taking place in different parts of the state.

Incidentally, in March 2023, the Government of Odisha granted a 50-year mining lease to Vedanta Limited for the captive extraction of bauxite in the Sijimali Hills located in the Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. Both districts fall under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and are designated as Scheduled Areas. These regions are predominantly inhabited by Kui and Katia Kondh tribal communities and are rich in dry and moist deciduous forests, grasslands, and biodiversity. T

The Sijimali project is expected to displace nearly 100 families from 18 villages and adversely affect the livelihoods of more than 500 families. The Rayagada district administration recently (in April 2026) commenced the construction of a 3-kilometre-long road stretching from Purulang to the Sagabari Valley to facilitate easier access to the Sijimali mining site.

This move met with strong opposition from local residents, particularly the Kui and Katiya Kondh tribal communities. They allege that this project poses a threat to their land, livelihoods, and the environment. Over the past decade, both districts have witnessed a decline in forest cover, primarily due to bauxite mining activities. The proposed Sijimali bauxite mine spans 1,549 hectares, of which 699 hectares consist of forest land.

The primary objective of Vedanta Limited’s bid for Sijimali Mine is to ensure a continuous supply of bauxite for its 5 MTPA alumina refinery located in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi. The Sijimali mine has an estimated reserve of 311 million tonnes in the Rayagada/Kalahandi region.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Non-Coal Mining under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommended granting environmental clearance to Vedanta’s Sijimali bauxite mine project during its meeting held on May 15, according to the minutes of the EAC meeting.

This recommendation for environmental clearance is subject to the specific condition that “no mining activity shall be undertaken within the 709.72-hectare area without obtaining Stage-II Forest Clearance.”

Currently, the ownership of this project rests with Vedanta Limited, whose parent company is Vedanta Resources headquartered in London. Vedanta is one of India’s largest mining and metals corporations, with operations spanning bauxite, aluminium, zinc, iron ore, oil, and gas. While the company projects itself as a symbol of “development” and “industrial progress,” many of its mining projects have consistently faced allegations of environmental destruction, tribal displacement, human rights violations, and administrative irregularities. The Niyamgiri case, the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi, and now the Sijimali bauxite project are major examples.

Ironically, Vedanta Resources had earlier failed in its attempt to mine bauxite in the nearby Niyamgiri Hills, home to the Dongria Kondh tribal community. The historic resistance led by the Dongria Kondhs became a global symbol of indigenous resistance, as they fought to protect their rights, culture, and land from corporate mining interests.

Owing to the protests in 2010, the Union government refused to grant Stage-II Forest Clearance for the diversion of 660 hectares of forest land for mining in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. The decision was based on adverse recommendations made by the Forest Advisory Committee, which expressed serious concerns regarding tribal rights, ecological balance, and biodiversity.

The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court of India. In its landmark judgment dated April 18, 2013, the Court ruled that approval from Gram Sabhas was mandatory for the mining project. Later that year, all 12 Gram Sabhas unanimously rejected the proposed mining plan in the ecologically sensitive Niyamgiri Hills, delivering a major setback to Vedanta.

Despite this history, the company continues to claim that it has developed a comprehensive ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) framework and remains committed to achieving “Net-Zero” carbon emissions by 2050. It has also announced plans to invest $5 billion over the next decade. According to the company, this investment will be directed toward decarbonisation initiatives, renewable energy projects, clean fuels, water-positivity goals, the electrification of mining operations and vehicle fleets, and comprehensive sustainability measures across its entire operations.

However, Vedanta’s bauxite projects in Odisha continue to raise serious concerns. The Lanjigarh refinery was established without securing adequate mining approvals beforehand, leading to raw material shortages and rising operational costs. This reflects a major failure in investment planning.