A White Paper On BMP PDF

NIYAMGIRI – THE SACRED POSSIBILITY
NIYAMGIRI–THE SACRED
POSSIBILITY
A White Paper on BMP & Community
Partnership
(Vedanta Aluminum Limited)
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Forum for Integrated Development and Research (FIDR)
27 Forest Park Bhubaneswar 751009
WHITE PAPER ON
MINING & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
Revisit, retrospection of socioeconomic fibres of VAL, the Stakeholders, local and

external influences& recreating the blueprint of growth& better life options in the
proposed mining area, Niyamgiri, Kalahandi and Rayagada District, Odisha
December 2016
Independent Study conducted and submitted to: Vedanta Aluminium Ltd

Address: 1st Floor, Module C/2, Fortune Towers, Bhubaneswar, 751023
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
FIDR expresses its gratitude to all the relevant stakeholders for contributing to the development of this
White paper on Niyamgiri Mining & Community Partnership. The white paper is a report and guide that
informs readers concisely about the Niyamgiri conundrum and presents FIDR’s deduction on the matter. This
report is intended to help readers, connected directly or indirectly with Niyamgiri, understand the issue and
ease the stalemate by taking appropriate actions.
FIDR is an independent not for profit with the commitment to work towards the holistic development of the
state of Odisha. Improvement in the lives of the primitive tribal groups living in the Niyamgiri area and
contributing to the socio-economic wellbeing of the state in general is its prime goal. Through extensive
ground research, communications and intensive surveys, we have prepared the paper, which is retrospective
in nature but is progressive at the same time, providing solutions for the concurrent development of
business through ethical mining and human development through sustained community ownership of the
project and allied benefits.
The task was immensely gratifying yet challenging - made more difficult by the local security concerns (due
to Left Wing Extremism) and the formidable terrain.
This study, being one-of-its-kind in the Region, provided us the complete insight into the psyche of the
population, their situation over the last decade or more, the roles of the external stakeholders like the
NGOs, the politicians, the middlemen, the government and the resulting impasse in terms of community
endorsement. Reaching the core villages remain a challenge as there are no proper roads to any of the
villages and the main mode of transport is by foot. After reaching these hard-to-reach villages, we found that
the people took time to open up because there is a perceptible uneasy calm amongst the villagers. ‘Mining’,
project mentions like ‘VAL’ are words which initially drove people away. It took us days, much more than
what we had planned for, and multiple attempts to cover the villages and make the villagers discuss frankly
with us, and in many cases to speak on camera. Timing for meeting the villagers was often early in the
morning, failing which the majority of the males leave for the Dongar (The farming area) and the females
leave for the nearest market to sell their little produce and procure the necessary household items. During
the day, the only people present are a few females, the children and the older people who are usually not
ready to interact or unable to communicate.
Under the study we have covered all the relevant and influential groups of stake holders like the civil society,
the political class, the tribals and the activists.
The attempt in this report is to provide a balanced view, a non-aligned perspective where the community
woes, the business bottlenecks, the development gaps, the programs implemented and the overall trust
syndrome have been studied and analysed without favour or partisan view.
We hope you will find this report useful and partner in the common goal of development of the community
in specific and Odisha in general.
FIDR 27 Dec 2016

27 Forest Park
Bhubaneswar, 751009
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ABBREVIATIONS
AG Advocate General
ANC Anganwadi Centre
ATM Automated Teller Machine
BJD Biju Janata Dal
BJP Bharatiya Janata Party
BMP Bauxite Mining Project
CDC Community Development Centre
CEC Community Empowerment Centre
CON Community Outreach Network
CSO Civil Society Organisations
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
DKDA Dongria Kondh Development Agency
EIRIS Ethical Investment Research Service
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FCA Financial Conduct Authority
FGD Focussed group Discussion
FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FPIC Free, Prior and Informed Consent
GP Gram Panchayat
HQ Head Quarter
ICDS Integrated Child Development Services
ICMM International Council on Mining and Metals
ICT Information and Communication Technologies
IFC International Finance Corporation
INC Indian National Congress
ITI Industrial Training Institute
Kms Kilometers
LWE Left Wing Extremism
MoEF Ministry of Environment & Forests
MoTA Ministry of Tribal Affairs
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MP Member of Parliament
NALCO National Aluminium Company Ltd
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NSS Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti
OBC Other Backward Class
OMC Odisha Mining Corporation
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PDS Public Distribution System

PESA Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act
PVTG Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group
RPDAC Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Council
SC Scheduled Cast
SHG Self Help Group
SLO Social Licence to Operate
SROI Social Return on Investment
ST Scheduled Tribe
TAD Total Area Development
TFD Tribal Forest Dwellers
VC Vedanta Champions
VIP Village Information Points
VSAP Vedanta Sustainability Assurance Programme
WOM Word of Mouth
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Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Methodology Adopted ............................................................................................................................... 9
Summary Table ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Chapter I...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Gram Sabha ................................................................................................................................................. 18
The concept of Gram Sabha ..................................................................................................................... 19
The Panchayati Raj system: .................................................................................................................. 20
The Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act: ....................................................................... 20
Powers of the Gram Sabha under PESA: ............................................................................................... 21
Implementation of PESA: ..................................................................................................................... 21
Village Details .......................................................................................................................................... 30
Chapter II..................................................................................................................................................... 32
Understanding the Groundswell .................................................................................................................. 32
The Gram Sabha debacle ......................................................................................................................... 32
“Storied” hate campaign .......................................................................................................................... 33
Understanding the Stakeholders .............................................................................................................. 40
Stakeholder Groups ..................................................................................................................................... 41
The Disconnect ........................................................................................................................................ 47
The Community Initiatives by VAL-Lanjigarh ................................................................................................ 48
Summary of the Community Disconnect .............................................................................................. 56
Failure to build effective relationships ..................................................................................................... 56
Introducing NGOs and activists without providing a balanced view .......................................................... 56
Failure to conduct a Community Needs Assessment ................................................................................ 57
Failure to conduct engage Community Leaders ........................................................................................ 58
Vedanta and VAL internal Community Engagement processes ................................................................. 58
Vedanta global good practices: ................................................................................................................ 59
Chapter III.................................................................................................................................................... 62
Community needs assessment ..................................................................................................................... 62
Connectivity: ............................................................................................................................................ 63
Sustainable Livelihood: ............................................................................................................................ 63
Medical Facilities: .................................................................................................................................... 64
Education: ............................................................................................................................................... 65
Water and Power Supply: ........................................................................................................................ 65
Utilisation of Access instruments: ............................................................................................................ 66
Living Standards:...................................................................................................................................... 66
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Culture & Heritage ................................................................................................................................... 67

Chapter IV ................................................................................................................................................... 69
The future Blueprint – towards Niyamgiri BMP ............................................................................................ 69
Towards inclusive and responsible mining............................................................................................ 70
Critical paradigm shift .......................................................................................................................... 71
Element A: Go to the Community............................................................................................................. 71
Element B: Community Outreach Network (CON) .................................................................................... 73
Element C: Internal Reforms: Vedanta Champion (VC) ............................................................................. 75
Element D: Total Area Development (TAD)............................................................................................... 76
Custom Hiring Center ............................................................................................................................... 79
Conclusion: Sustainability is the key ............................................................................................................. 79
Annexure 1: Village Resource Map............................................................................................................... 83
Annexure: 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 143
APPENDIX 1: Demographic Indicators of Core Villages............................................................................ 143
APPENDIX 2: Economic Status of village ................................................................................................. 143
APPENDIX 3: Education .......................................................................................................................... 143
APPENDIX 4: Access to Water ................................................................................................................ 143
APPENDIX 5: Access to road ................................................................................................................... 143
APPENDIX 6: Road.................................................................................................................................. 144
APPENDIX 7: Detail Profile of Core villages: ............................................................................................ 144
Annexure 3: Gallery of Visits ..................................................................................................................... 159
Annexure 4: News Articles on Vedanata Lanjigarha .................................................................................. 163
Annexures 5: Links to web pages & internet documents ............................................................................ 166
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Executive Summary
Niyamgiri has made international headlines and mostly for the wrong reasons. The villages,
which are 104 in number, in the radius of 10kms of the Vedanta Aluminium plant are sparsely
populated. The density of the population is less than 80 per village. But the thin population
consisting of the primitive tribal groups of Dongria Kondh couldn’t be adequately and prudently
sensitised about the project and its impact which led to an ‘eye for an eye’ situation. As a result,
neither the conditions of the tribals/the villagers have improved nor has the bauxite mining
project taken off. There is an impasse which if attempted earnestly and resolutely could be
resolved.
The Niyamgiri mines when open, is expected to feed the Lanjigarh VAL plant with high quality
bauxite which in turn could make the INR 8000 Cr plus investment (as reported) of VAL viable
and would change the lives of 10,000 people directly or indirectly connected with the plant,
forever. But the hope to access the mines was dashed by the Gram Sabhas in 2013 which
favoured all round rejection of the mining project. Odisha Mining Corporation lost its mining
bid comprehensively when 12 gram sabhas in the Rayagada and Kalahandi districts voted
against the plan in 2013. For the Dongria Kondhs, their belief in Niyam Raja reigns supreme and
no exhortation is strong enough for them to give up the belief. The failure of the Niyamgiri
bauxite mining project is estimated to have cost VAL significant lost investments.
The local tribals carry the inscrutable belief that mining in Niyamgiri will flatten their hills,
destroy their livelihoods and wipe out the abode of their lord or (the Nature King) Niyam Raja.
The Dongria Kondhs are unsure about their identity if they give up Niyamgiri hills for mining.
This is not an unjustified fear, if they are not taken into the fold with a plan of rehabilitation and
sustenance. The state government could be gearing up to hold Gram Sabhas afresh or even
chose to auction the mines or to solicit the support of local tribes for the Niyamgiri mining
project but going for a mandate again, without much ground work might not give vastly
different results than last time. And there is no reason for any eagerness to fail, when the
company and the stakeholders are scrambling for, as rudimentary as, the basic communication
with the tribals. None of the other external stakeholders too have made any strategic inroads
into the communities with a plan for their future development. And in the bargain the tribals
have been and might be asked again to vote for their own resettlement. A lot of work needs to
be done to befriend the community, make them stakeholders in the project and make them co-
travellers in the entire journey and not keeping the ‘access to mines’ alone in view.
This retrospect study has enabled us to understand the problem at the last mile. It provided
insights into the demographic profile, the economic profile, helping us arrive at the not-so-
overt reasons for losing Gram Sabha, listing out in details the NGOs/institutions which played
non-constructively towards the Gram Sabha debacle, to understand elements which could have
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been done better; and identifying the reasons for prevailing negative environment in the area.
The paper has also focused on the strategic interventions which Vedanta should undertake to
reverse the trend, curb negativity and win the confidence of the local inhabitants and assisting
the Govt. access the Niyamgiri Mines.
The only lighted place in the area is the VAL colony. Immediately beyond the stretch, the
community is plunged in darkness. There is no electricity. This is gross apathy even at Lanjigarh
without even mentioning the villages in the mining hills. The bridge with the community has to
be built. It has been neglected and in many cases burnt over the last 13 years.
BMP (Bauxite Mining Project) in Niyamgiri is possible, and there is bright & realistic hope. The
key lies in the fact that the community needs to be recognised as the ‘primary stakeholder’.
There is imminent necessity of arresting further damage to the prospect of building a world
class aluminium plant which would put the state, the country and the corporate in the global
map. Odisha, the state should also realise that a grand opportunity is waiting at the eastern
gateway to ASEAN countries, Odisha. The Finance Minister of India says that, “Odisha's
economic transformation is the touchstone of India's growth.” The State continues to grow at a
pace faster than the national rate and Odisha’s potential to wipe out poverty in the next one
and half decades is significantly high. Odisha is a test case for the India growth story. VAL has
the opportunity to partner with the emerging state of Odisha in transforming the State into a
manufacturing powerhouse in a short period of time.
During the course of the study we have interacted with sections of the society which includes
the primary as well as the secondary stakeholders at four tiers – local, two districts, the state
and at the national levels. We have also interacted with the civil society activists at London to
discuss about the Gram Sabha and community discordant and their ramifications. The
stakeholders we have covered can be classified broadly under the following categories:
1. The communities at the villages

2. The local business & trading communities
3. The Civil Society
4. The Activists
5. The Political Class
6. The Government Officials
The white paper reflects findings gathered through a variety of methods including first-hand
experiences, in-depth interviews, observations, and participation in community meetings and
gatherings.
Methodology Adopted
The team of researchers have adopted a multi-mix of strategies as the respondents’ targeted
were completely heterogeneous. For civil society including the business class we have
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conducted multiple round of FGDs (Focussed group Discussions) at places ranging from ground
zero to the district headquarters. For political stake holders it was one-on-one informal
interaction except in one case where the respondent agreed to have a formal interaction on the
subject.
The research team conducted the survey in the months of September to November, 2016 with
a team of 4 local investigators. The study involved collection of primary & secondary data and
desk review. Primary data collection was facilitated through:
 Household survey
 Focus Group discussions
 Informal consultation with stakeholders of the project
Review of secondary data from:
 State & district reports

 Policy papers
 Census reports of district and state
The household census and socioeconomic profiling was carried out by using a structured
questionnaire. Prior to initiating the survey, the questionnaire was piloted to identify the gaps
and relevance of the queries in the light of the project requirements. Accordingly, the
questionnaire was modified. The survey was carried out in core villages encompassing a
population of 953 spread over 185 households. The survey was further strengthened by
conducting informal consultation with the local community, Panchayat members and other
stakeholders.
The census and socioeconomic data analysis has covered the needs and resources of different
groups and individuals, including intra-household analysis and gender analysis. Information on
the village profile was also collected through a village schedule. The data includes information
on demographic profile, occupation profile, cropping pattern, land use, village infrastructure,
community health and common property resources.
We initially planned to have a structured questionnaire survey in the core villages for primary
data collection which was successful. But when we climbed uphill to the Dongria villages
administering the same, this became unfeasible. Hence we started adopting informal
interaction, observation and ethnographic means to collect data. To summarise, we adopted
the following techniques for data collection during the survey:
1. Focussed Group Discussions.

2. One on one formal Interviews.
3. One on one informal interaction.
4. Survey through structured questionnaire.
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5. Survey through Informal interaction.

6. Ethnographic Study and observation.
The Primary data was thus collected, tabulated and analysed using statistical tools. We spoke to
much over 100 respondents from all sectors with significant engagement locally, at district
headquarters, the state capital Bhubaneswar, Delhi& London. We have connected and
conversed with international agencies – NGOs and CSOs directly involved with the Niyamgiri
saga, whose names have not been disclosed in the report, on their request.
Summary Table
Area Major Findings
Civil Society 1. The mood of the civil society at the district headquarters is pro
Perception project. They want development of the area & so the mining to
happen. There is no credible presence of civil society at the local
area to take up impactful, effective programs at scale.
2. The mood in the plant area is mixed and is entirely driven by the
undercurrent of expectation vs. realization mismatch.
Activists & 1. Everyone trying to exploit the situation for own, narrow benefits.
Political Class
Influence 2. The hold of the erstwhile handlers is in cold storage and there is
no new group of political or social agents who are active. The
handlers are latent forces (almost like sleeper cells) but waiting to
fuel unrest, once the gram sabhas recur.
3. Desperate attempts are being tried to revive control to keep the

confusion alive. A nexus between the current beneficiaries and
the anti-VAL group is evident.
Developmental 1. The one-off, sporadic community development initiatives have

Initiatives by failed to deliver effective license to operate in the area and have
VAL proved counterproductive. One off CSR programs have not been
efficacious.
2. Current initiatives are not planned strategically, do not touch the

lives of the tribals, and are not based on scientific or veritable
community needs assessments or data analysis.
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3. Vedanta Sustainability Framework, a well laid out procedure has

not been followed by VAL.
4. Prime focus need to be on sustainable livelihood and betterment

of living standards which is grossly missing, even after so many
years and the failure at the Gram Sabha’s.
Core villages& 1. All of them lack basic amenities and live in abject poverty.
their
conditions 2. The water resource is also drying out keeping them out of farming
almost one third of a year.
3. Literacy rate is about 6.75% much below the national and state
average.
4. Few schools are operating in the area and the children have to
travel miles for education.
5. Basic health services not accessible to many villagers hence still

dependent on their traditional healing process &resigned to fate.
6. Still following the traditional mode of cultivation hence the

production volume is on a decline mode.
7. Most of the sales of agriculture produce or craft work are distress

selling.
8. Lack of access instruments for financial inclusion make them

vulnerable to exploitative conditions like high interest rates
charged by the local money lenders.
1. All the initiatives are being attempted through middlemen in the

communities who claim to be influencers& the benefit is short
Other lived because there is no ‘ownership’ of the development work.
Observations
2. Even with less number of core villages and less pressure, there is
no direct touch with the villages in development work.
3. Interestingly most of the anti-VAL activists in the area have benefitted

from the project, either in terms of job for family members or contracts.
But it is a surprise that they are continued to be negative campaigners.
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4. The rehabilitation and resettlement process for the existing plant area is
still pending and troubles erupt every now and then inflicting severe
dents in the brand image. This issue is avoidable as it breeds middlemen
and problem mongers in the entire community.
5. Going forward social license to operate is Key and not one-off CSR
projects which are sporadic in nature and not need based (needs of the
communities).
A SNAPSHOT OF THE CORE VILLAGES WHICH VOTED
Sl.
No.
Village No of Population Children Literacy Nearest Nearest

Name House /Minors Rate Hospital School
holds
1 Ijirupa 10 37 7 18.92 < 5 Km < 5 Km
An OBC Village with comparatively better rate of literacy among the core villages and
comparatively better economic status among the core villages.
The population doesn't follow the tribal rituals and the inhabitants are given to material
welfare and economic upliftment. This is the only village where 2 families have bikes.
The mood is not negative against the project rather they are more concerned about their
benefit and sustainable livelihood issues.
2 Lamba 23 103 24 0.00 >10Km >10Km

A 100% tribal village with 0% literacy which makes it one of the most reactive set of
people with a skewed vision on the subject.
Major dependency is on farming for livelihood whose practices have not evolved over the
years. The economic status is far below the national average ST economic status figure.
Situated in difficult terrain and with illiteracy, poverty and lack of basic amenities as the
challenges, makes the village one the most vulnerable population to convince.
3 Phuldumer 20 94 17 24.73 >5 Km <5 Km
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A mix of SC & ST population divided into 2 hamlets - Lower Phuldumer and Upper
Phuldumer. The lower has a SC majority and the upper is a complete ST habitation.
The aspiration levels are different among these 2 communities where the SC populations
possess aspirations similar to Ijirupa but the ST population is reactive like that of Lamba.
The village had a child care center and community center erected by VAL which has been
pulled down by people during the protest days.
4 Palberi 11 42 17 0.00 >10 Km > 5Km

A small hamlet with 100% tribal population has an allegiance to the tribal thought
process.
Nil literacy, extreme poverty and lack of basic amenities make them vulnerable to
misconceptions and anti-Vedanta hate campaign. There is a palpable fear of losing their
identity and livelihood.
A follower village which will take the side, which the majority of tribals would take.
5 Kunakadu 8 43 22 0.00 >10 Km > 5Km

A small hamlet of tribals which acts as informer to the hub of anti-VAL activities at
Lakhpadar and also act as executors of the violent protests in the Kalahandi area.
One of the most inconveniently located village among the Kalahandi villages but with a
set of aggressive and stubborn influencers.
Illiteracy, poverty and lack of basic amenities make it even more vulnerable.
6 Tadijhola 8 33 10 3.03 >10 Km >10 Km

Another village with 2 hamlets of OBCs surrounded by tribal villages.
Culturally different from the tribal population and have material aspirations like Ijirupa
but the influence of tribal surrounded environment has almost compelled them to take
side of the anti-Vedanta movement.
Focus on education is high and are sending their students to Trilochanpur school. They are
ready to even offer land for building up a school in the area.
7 Lakhpadar 27 217 21 0.92 >15 Km > 15 Km

The biggest village among the core villages and touted as the epicenter of tribal agitation.
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Has been under the influence of LWE as the place is remotely located and inaccessible
from mainland by any vehicle or two-wheeler. The only way to reach is by walking
through the hills for 4 Kms from Tadijhola.
Being the habitat of the biggest proportion of the population and the village of the anti-
Vedanta poster boy Lado Sikaka, the atmosphere has been complex and volatile in the
village.
8 Batudi 15 76 12 13.16 >15 Km >15 Km

A remotely located 100% tribal village depending primarily on farming for livelihoods.
The majority depends on labour work for additional income to survive as the families
want to educate the next generation.
The village has the uniqueness of having maximum number of Indira Awaas houses among
the core villages which indicates their sensitization of government schemes.
9 Jarpa 7 32 8 0.00 >10 Km >10 Km
A small hamlet of tribals depending primarily on Farming and non-timber forest products
for survival.
Literacy rate at 0% and no child of the village is school going. This indicates the pathetic
condition of their survival
Their helplessness and poor conditions make them to go with the general mood of the
entire area.
10 Kesarpadi 16 79 20 11.39 <10 Km <10 Km
A Dongria village with comparatively better economic status among the core villages as
the villagers are actively into farming and daily labor work as a source for their income.
Though has a literacy rate of around 12%, yet the school going pattern of next generation
is disturbing with most children being school dropouts.
Basic amenities condition is as worse than any other core village.

11 Serkapadi 18 92 22 7.61 <10 Km <10 Km
A tribal village completely dependent on shifting cultivation as the only source of income.
The financial condition of the household has a direct bearing on the school going status of
the children hence majority of the family children are going to school but still has drop
outs in 5 households.
Awareness about education is high but the hills being the only source of their survival and
sustenance are not ready to get displaced or lose out on their land holdings.
12 Khambesi 22 105 21 2.86 >15 Km >15 Km
A remotely located tribal village which is quite inaccessible where Horticulture, Shifting
cultivation and Live stocks are the major sources of earning.
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Interestingly the village has no drop outs and all the children are attending schools, mostly
staying at relatives’ house outside the area.
Being a Tribal village they share extreme anti Vedanta views.

Total 185 953 201 6.15
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Chapter I
Gram Sabha
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Chapter I
Gram Sabha
In June 2003, Sesa Sterlite now Vedanta Aluminum Limited, a subsidiary of the UK-based
Vedanta Resources PLC, entered into a $750 million agreement with the Government of Odisha
to develop an alumina refinery, a bauxite mining plant and a power plant in the Niyamgiri
mountains in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. This was one among several such agreements
that the Odisha Government had signed with private enterprises to tap into the mineral wealth
of the State. Odisha is one of India’s most resource-rich States with large reserves of bauxite
(35.2% of all of the country’s reserves), iron ore (50%), chromite (100%), coal (20.1%)
manganese (25.5%), sillimanite (19.2%), and dolomite (9.2%). Yet, the State remains abjectly
poor and relatively under-developed – and the Government hopes that leveraging Odisha’s
natural wealth and resources would bring prosperity to its people. The uniqueness of this
Project has been that it is located in an area which is one of the most primitive Tribal
geographies & belts of India – inhabits the Kondh tribal groups (Dongria & Kutia). These tribal
groups are considered Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), which is a classification by
the government to indicate the vulnerability of the communities in terms of their low levels of
development - pre-agricultural system of existence, practice of hunting and gathering or
shifting cultivation, negative population growth, extremely low level of literacy in comparison
with other tribal groups. The Dongrias and Kutias do not have a written language and they are
“traditional forest dwellers” which means that the community had at least three generations
prior to 13th December, 2005 primarily resided in and dependent on the forest or forest land for
bona fide livelihood needs. Furthermore, the area comes under the Schedule V classification.
Schedules areas are those areas which are treated differently from other areas in a state in the
sense that whole of the administrative machinery operating in the state is not necessarily
extended to these areas and the Central Government has somewhat greater responsibility for
these areas. They are established for protection of the tribals and aboriginals, the most basic
criterion is preponderance of tribal population in those areas. Any underdevelopment and
marked disparity in economic standard of the people are the indicators. They embody
principles followed in “Excluded” and ‘Partially-Excluded Areas’ under the Government of India
Act 1935; Schedule ‘B’ of recommendations of the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas Sub
Committee of Constituent Assembly and Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes Commission
1961.
According to the initial plan, the alumina refinery was to have a capacity of one million tons per
annum and with the bauxite mining plan feeding it from atop the Niyamgiri mountain was to
have a full capacity of three million tons per annum, and the coal-based power plant, located in
the Lanjigarh region of Kalahandi district, a capacity of 75 MW.
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In 2004, Sesa Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd transferred its permissions to Vedanta Aluminium
Ltd which then signed an agreement with the state-run Orissa Mining Corporation. By 2007, the
power plant in Lanjigarh was up and running but the other two were yet to get off the ground.
Over the next few years, the project would be hemmed in, on the one hand, by legal and
bureaucratic complications, and on the other, by a protest movement led by local activists and
international NGOs who argued that mining the Niyamgiri hills would violate the religious
beliefs of the primitive Kondh tribe (Primitive Tribal Groups) that belonged to the area.
Notably, in the early years, while the protest movement was steadily gaining strength on the
ground, Vedanta was winning the battles in court and on paper. In September 2007, the
Supreme Court, which had already been hearing the case for more than a year at that point,
ordered a comprehensive report on the impact of large-scale mining in the region. In 2008
though the apex court set aside the report recommendations and upheld the Ministry of
Environment and Forests’ mining permit to Vedanta. In 2009, the Ministry gave Vedanta the
environmental clearance for bauxite mining even as the protest movement was reaching its
peak.
But the situation changed soon after – with a new Minister at the helm, the MoEF set up a four-
member panel (Saxena Committee) that investigated the use of forest land for bauxite mining
and on the basis of the panel’s recommendations, first rejected Vedanta’s proposal for capacity
increase at the refinery in 2010 and later revoked the company’s mining clearance. (MOEF met
on 29.6.2010 and decided to constitute a team composed of specialists to look into the
settlement of rights on forest dwellers and the “Primitive Tribal Groups” under the Forest
Rights Act and the impact of the Project on wildlife and biodiversity in the surrounding areas.
Consequently, a 4-member Committee was constituted headed by Dr. Naresh Saxena to study
and assess the impacts of various rights and to make a detailed investigation. The Committee,
after conducting several site visits and making detailed enquiries submitted its report to MOEF
on 16.8.2010.)
VAL’s partner OMC (Odisha Mining Corporation, Government of Odisha) challenged these
decisions in court, which resulted in the Supreme Court’s 2013 verdict, ordering gram sabhas or
village councils to determine whether mining in the hills would violate the religious rights of the
tribal communities and to vote for or against the Project.
Over a period of four weeks in August 2013, 12 gram sabhas were held in the villages of
Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. Each meeting returned the same result: Villagers
unanimously voted against the project.
The concept of Gram Sabha

Article 243(b) of the Constitution of India defines a gram sabha as “a body consisting of persons
registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of the Panchayat
at the village level”. It empowers the gram sabha to “exercise such powers and perform such
functions at the village level as the legislature of a state may, by law provide”. A deliberative
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body, the gram sabha is the building block on which India’s three-tier panchayati raj system
stands. This system was put in place to bring in a bottom up approach to governance and
introduce an element of direct democracy into the heart of the republic.
As such, India has a long history of such grassroots governance. Panchayats, for example, were
common even in ancient India, and most dispute resolutions happened through local bodies.
And much before independence, even the British sought to ‘institutionalize’ local governance.
In 1907, the Royal Commission on Decentralisation said that, “it is most desirable, alike in the
interests of decentralisation and in order to associate the people with the local tasks of
administration that an attempt should be made to constitute and develop village Panchayats
for the administration of local village affairs”. The Government of India Act, 1919, introduced
such local self-governing institutions while the Government of India Act 1935 brought in
provincial autonomy and elected governments.
The Panchayati Raj system:

After independence, when the Constitution was promulgated, panchayats were placed under
the Directive Principles of State Policy. Later, on the basis of the LM Singhvi Committee’s
recommendations, panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) were given constitutional recognition
through the 73rd Amendment. It was this Amendment to the Constitution that also placed
gram sabhas as the baseline of the three-tier Panchayati Raj system.
However, the devolution of powers to PRIs did not happen at the same pace across the country.
Notably, the Scheduled Areas (primarily tribal areas such as Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi
districts) were kept outside the purview of the 73rd and 74th amendments even though,
ironically, self-governance is a critical aspect of tribal life.
The Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act:

It was only in 1996 that Parliament enacted a separate law for these areas, known as the
Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act. Over the course of the next 12 months, the
Governments of the States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan, which housed these
Scheduled Areas, were to enact their own laws to comply with the central legislation.
It is important to underline here that PESA is different from the usual laws that govern the
relationship between the state and its subjects particularly with regard to the ownership and
distribution of natural resources. While most Indian laws uphold state ownership, PESA tilts in
favour of community ownership. “PESA is a unique legislation, often described as a Constitution
within the Constitution, which attempts to bring together in a single frame two totally different
worlds - the simple system of tribal communities governed by their respective customs and
traditions, and the formal system of the State governed exclusively by laws”, note Ajay
Dandekar and Chitrangada Choudhury in a 2010 report commissioned by the Union Ministry of
Panchayati Raj.
20
Powers of the Gram Sabha under PESA:

Essentially, PESA allows a pre-eminent role to the village and specifically the gram sabha (as
opposed to the elected Gram Panchayat) which it empowers the gram sabha to act on a range
of issues.
For example, Section 4(a) of PESA necessitates that should the state bring in a law that is not in
keeping with the customary law and social and religious practices in the Scheduled Area, the
tribals must have avenues to redress their grievances or objections.
Section 4 (d) empowers Gram Sabhas “safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of
the people, their cultural identity, community resources and the customary mode of dispute
resolution”.
Section 4(e) allows Gram Sabhas to “approve of the plans, programs and projects for social and
economic development before such plans, programs and projects are taken up for
implementation by the Panchayat at the village level”. This extends to all the 29 subjects items
listed in the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution by the 73rd Amendment.
Section4 (i) states that “the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be
consulted before making the acquisition of land in the Scheduled Areas for development
projects and before resettling or rehabilitating persons affected by such projects in the
Scheduled Areas; the actual planning and implementation of the projects in the Scheduled
Areas shall be coordinated at the State level”. In other words, gram sabha consultation is
mandatory for any land acquisition for development projects as well as any subsequent
rehabilitation project in the Scheduled Area.
With regard to mining activities specifically, Section 4(k) states that “the recommendations of
the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats at the appropriate level shall be made mandatory prior to
grant of prospecting license or mining lease for minor minerals in the Scheduled Areas”.
Implementation of PESA:
The general consensus on PESA is that while it may have been progressive step on paper, in
reality it has not been implemented equally across all States. In fact, the gram sabha’s control
over minor forest produce, its decisive say in land acquisition and its right to preserve
community resources are controversial.
For example, Odisha has modified the gram sabha’s role in safeguarding and preserving the
people’s traditions, customs and cultural identity and added that this should be done in
consonance with existing laws and basic human rights.
Similarly, with regard to land acquisition for development project, Odisha has assigned those
powers to the zilla panchayat. Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat have also transferred the powers
away from the gram sabhas.
With regard to the grant of mining leases for minor minerals, Odisha has given those powers to
the Zilla Parishad while Himachal Pradesh has mandated that gram sabhas shall only be “taken
21
into consideration” (but their ruling will not be binding). Maharashtra has assigned powers to
Gram Panchayat instead of the gram sabha.
The Union Government is aware of these discrepancies, which have been pointed out by
several commissions and panels studying the subject. However, resolving this issue requires,
among other things, rationalization of several existing laws – and that is work-in-progress.
With that being said, however, it is still important to underline, understand and acknowledge
the evolving role of the gram sabha in mediating the relationship between the state and the
citizen. PESA and the larger panchayati raj framework is, of course, one prism through which
this can be viewed. The other direct, tool is the Supreme Court judgment which called upon
gram sabhas to carry out what has been popularly termed as India’s first ‘environmental
referendum’.
The Niyamgiri Gram Sabhas: Understanding the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgement
The Supreme Court’s judgment came in response to Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd’s petition
challenging the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest’s decision to deny it the final forest
clearance necessary for mining in the Niyamgiri hills. The Ministry had rejected the Stage II
clearance after the Saxena committee reported that mining in the area would have an adverse
impact on the tribal communities that inhabit the region in particular and on the environment
in general. The report had also pointed out violations of the provisions of environmental
protection legislations such as the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The opposition to this petition came not only from the Ministry but also the tribals who argued
that the project was an assault on their religious beliefs. The hills were sacred to them, and
mining would be tantamount to desecration of the abode of their lord, the Niyam Raja.
OMC, on the other hand, argued that since the ownership of the land was vested in the State,
the Schedule Tribes or Traditional Forest Dwellers had no claim over it. The court also favoured
this claim in keeping with the legal precedent set in the Amritlal Nathubhai Shah & Ors. v. Union
Government of India & Anr., (1976), wherein the apex court had held that the State
Government is the owner of minerals within its territory and minerals vest in it.
However, the Court also sought to make a distinction between an owner and a trustee, thereby
prioritizing the public good. In doing, Prof Amit Bindal of OPJG University argues, “The Court
here, unknowingly, confronted the schizophrenic self of the Indian state. One part of this self
(the petitioners) sought permission to move further with the mining project on the legal
grounds of ownership and with the larger political claim of development and progress. The
other part sought the putting of ecological, cultural and ethical restraints on that ownership
claim and the construction of a framework of inclusive and humanist development. The task of
the judicial interpreters was to adjudicate these conflicting claims or conflicting selves of the
modern state.”
22
Notably, the court’s approach to tribals rights in the Niyamgiri case was markedly different
from what it had taken earlier in the case of the Sardar Sarovar dam. In the latter, as Prof Bindal
points out, the Court had justified the mega development project which displaced hundreds of
villages and families because the latter’s “gradual assimilation in the mainstream of the society
will lead to betterment and progress’’. The court had acknowledged that “displacement of
these people would undoubtedly disconnect them from their past, culture, custom and
traditions, but then it becomes necessary to harvest a river for the larger good.’’
There are approximately 370 million Indigenous people in the world, belonging to
5,000 different groups, in 90 countries worldwide. Indigenous people live in every region of the
world, but about 70% of them live in Asia.
There is no universally accepted definition for “Indigenous,” though there are characteristics
that tend to be common among Indigenous People:
 They tend to have small populations relative to the dominant culture of their country.
However, in Bolivia and Guatemala Indigenous people make up more than half the
population.
 They usually have (or had) their own language. Today, Indigenous people speak some
4,000 languages.
 They have distinctive cultural traditions that are still practiced.
 They have (or had) their own land and territory, to which they are tied in myriad ways.
 They self-identify as Indigenous.
 Examples of Indigenous People include the Inuit of the Arctic, Native Americans, hunter-
gatherers in the Amazon, traditional pastoralists like the Maasai in East Africa, and tribal
people in the Philippines.
Indigenous People are often thought of as the primary stewards/’housekeepers’ of the planet’s
biological resources. Their ways of life have contributed to the protection of the natural
environment on which they depend. It is no coincidence that when the World Wildlife Fund
listed the top 200 areas with the highest and most threatened biodiversity; they found that 95
percent are on Indigenous territories.
The peoples’ relationship with their traditional lands and territories is said to form the core of
their identity and spirituality and is deeply rooted in their culture and history. They see a clear
relationship between the loss of their lands and situations of marginalization, discrimination
and underdevelopment of indigenous communities. According to Erica Irene Daes, a UN Special
Rapporteur in 2002, “The gradual deterioration of indigenous societies can be traced to the
non-recognition of the profound relation that indigenous people have to their lands, territories
and resources.” We heard echoes of this statement in almost everyone we met and discussed
during our survey. The tribals are acutely aware of the relationship between the environmental
23
impacts of various types of development on their lands, and the environmental and subsequent
health impacts on their people. But this awareness is also rife with misconceptions and
misleading myths. But it needs to be recognised that in the entire Lanjigarh area (for the study
purpose we include all the core villages and the entire area under lanjigarh), the community
through their deep understanding of and connection with the land, have managed their
environments sustainably for generations. And they firmly believe in this. The flora, fauna and
other resources available on the lands and the hills have provided them with their livelihoods
and have nurtured their communities, however scanty.
It is important to have an intense understanding of the tribal community in the area. The
following are some of the significant pointers:
 They have descended from populations who inhabited the region at the time when
there were conquests, and the establishment of current state boundaries
 They have retained some of their own social, economic, cultural, practices, irrespective
of their PVTG status; and these are distinguished from other sections of the mainstream
community;
 The community possess a notion of oppression by VAL (fuelled by activists and political
workers and stoked in the community already marked with strong opinions & rigid
penchants) and on-going conditions of dominance and quite naturally aspire to continue
to exist as distinct people.
The indigenous people in the area have highly specialised land use practices and livelihood
strategies, developed over generations and embedded in knowledge and belief systems that
are often undocumented and governed by customary institutions that often remain
unrecognised. In the midst of the livelihood crisis facing the communities, there is growing need
for the development and the recognition of the contribution of the tribal’ traditional knowledge
to sustainable development, ecosystem management& biodiversity conservation.
The indigenous group at Lanjigarh lives within the specific bio-region covered under the study,
with a relatively uniform environment and ecology. Because of characteristics of this
environment like a short growing season, or vegetable growing practice in the hills, they have
developed explanations based on the characteristics of the Niyamgiri region. Their religion
24
(they don’t have one, except belief in nature God/Niyam Raja subsequently) has strong
ecological beliefs as they try to live in harmony with the natural order.
The religious belief concept of sacred sites is a common phenomenon across aboriginals around
the world and it has a strong connection with their way of living with nature. For example
developed countries like Australia and United States of America have native population with
strong beliefs which forced the government to enact laws to protect their sacred sites. The one
law in the world that explicitly protects indigenous peoples’ sacred lands, consider
Australia’s Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act as a pioneering act. In 2012, Benin
passed national legislation granting legal recognition to community sacred groves. The law
prohibits tree cutting and other activities, creates buffer zones around sacred forests, and
designates community management committees. Sacred groves are the homes to ancestors’
spirits and gods worshiped by local communities, burial forests, and places of initiation
ceremonies and other spiritual practices. This has a strong and uncanny resemblance to the
practices in the Niyamgiri area.
In the case of VAL, on April 18, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the gram sabhas of the
affected villages in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts would decide whether the project would
hurt the religious rights of the tribals living in and around Niyamgiri hills. Specifically, it urged
the Gram Sabha to decide whether “their (the tribals’/ TFDs’) right to worship their deity,
known as Niyam Raja, in the hill tops of the Niyamgiri range of hills, has to be preserved and
protected.” Note that the focus was very specifically on religious rights.
The gram sabhas were given three months to carry out the referendum which would then form
the basis on which the MoEF would decide whether to grant stage-II clearance to the project.
To ensure that gram sabha proceedings are not influenced by Vedanta or the state government
or the Centre, the court directed that the proceedings be recorded in the presence of a judicial
officer of the rank of district judge. The Odisha government decided to go ahead with gram
sabhas in 12 villages on the Niyamgiri hill slopes in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts to decide
the fate of bauxite extraction from the sensitive area. The AG (Advocate General), after an
interpretation of the Supreme Court order dated April 18, 2013, had advised the government to
hold the gram sabhas in 12 villages. So, it was decided to hold the gram sabhas in seven villages
of Rayagada district and five villages in Kalahandi district and the notices were issued to
sarpanches of all 12 villages to start gram sabha proceedings. In Rayagada district, the gram
sabhas were held at Serkapadi, Kesrapadi, Batudi, Khambesi, Jarpa, Lamba and Lakhpadar.
Similarly, the villages identified for gram sabha in Kalahandi district include Tadijhola, Palberi,
Phuldumer, Ijirupa and Kunakadu. The selection of only 12 villages for Gram Sabha had come
under fire then from some quarters.
“The list of villages where rights of forest dwellers are guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act
or where cultural and religious rights are likely to be affected cannot be arbitrarily decided by
the state government. It is to be decided by the people (palli sabha) where claims would be
filed through a transparent manner so that no genuine gram sabha, which has a legitimate
claim, is left out of the process. This is in line with para 59 of the apex court judgment,”
Secretary, MoTA had written to the Odisha Government. The then Union tribal affairs minister
25
V Kishore Chandra Deo also objected to limiting gram sabhas to only 12 villages pointing out the
spiritual and emotional bonding to Niyamgiri of Dongaria Kondhs’ is not limited to only these 12
villages. The minister had written to Odisha Governor, stressing on safeguarding the
constitutional protection guaranteed to the tribals and inhabitants of Rayagada and Kalahandi
districts which are located in Schedule V areas.
The government/OMC was jolted with a 12-0 drubbing in gram sabhas held to seek a
referendum on bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills. After the gram sabhas, the fate of Vedanta
Aluminium (VAL) with an investment of over Rs 8000 Cr has been pushed to uncertainty
because it was struggling to stay in operation by sourcing bauxite from different other places
outside Odisha. The Dongria tribes and other communities in all the villages rejected the
Niyamgiri mining plan, which was conceived to secure raw material for VAL’s refinery on the
foothills. The refinery was built on the state government’s assurance to provide bauxite from
Niyamgiri. In its absence, the only hope of keeping the refinery afloat hinged on VAL getting
access to an alternate source. Vedanta’s applications for alternate mines are still at various
stages of processing. There is still scope for mining in Kurlapeta, Sanbarmalli, Boflamalli,
Chandalgiri, Kotikidongar and other hills close to Niyamgiri. The government has also
recommended to the Centre for reserving the Karlapat bauxite deposits for Odisha Mining
Corporation (OMC). OMC, if allotted the Karlapat mine (by the time this white paper is released,
the mines would have been allotted), can enter into a fresh tie up with VAL for supply of
bauxite to Lanjigarh plant. For the time being, OMC is the leaseholder for Niyamgiri bauxite
deposits. In all, 426 tribals decided the fate of Vedanta’s alumina refinery and the Niyamgiri
mines.
26
2007 – PlantNIYAMGIRI – THE SACRED POSSIBILITY
commissioned &
production
Fact Sheet on Gram Sabha 2013
2007 – Green Kalahandi

2003 – Land movement started/starting
acquisition the discourse about
environment
2008 – Environment 2010 – MoEF turns

clearance/nod by CS down approval
Negative tirade against
VAL continues
2010 - Rahul Gandhi’s 2010 – Saxena

visit & open Committee report/16
opposition to VAL Aug 2010
2012 – SC ruling for 2013 – Gram Sabha

Gram Sabha Happened
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Voting Population People Voted Population Not Voted:
503 426 77
Male Voted Female Voted
178 248
Sl. No. Village No. of People voted Not Voted

Name Eligible
voters
Total Male Female
1 Ijirupa 1 4 4 0 -3
2 Lamba 40 38 18 20 2
3 Phuldumer 65 49 17 32 16
4 Palberi 15 14 7 7 1
5 Kunakadu 22 21 11 10 1
6 Tadijhola 22 19 10 9 3
7 Lakhpadar 130 97 39 58 33
8 Batudi 40 31 13 18 9
9 Jarpa 16 12 6 6 4
10 Kesarpadi 36 33 10 23 3
11 Serkapadi 44 36 20 16 8
12 Khambesi 72 72 23 49 0
Total 503 426 178 248 77
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Voting Pattern of Gram Sabha
No of People Voted Vs. People Not Voted
The gender distribution
29
Village Details
Villages: 12
Households: 185
Population: 953
Male: 424
Female: 529
30
Chapter II
Chapter II
Understanding the groundswell
31
Chapter II
Understanding the Groundswell
The Gram Sabha debacle
This was the first time an environmental referendum was conducted on a directive by the
Supreme Court to find out whether mining in Niyamgiri tantamount to an infringement of the
religious, community and individual rights of local forest-dwellers. With the Gram Sabhas giving
a total negative verdict to the mines, it was felt that the tribals never quite understood the
implications of the project. They had apprehensions that they might be displaced. Their poverty
has been exploited by the local small NGOs and an international lobby of international rights
based NGO like Survival International, Amnesty International & Action-aid. There is a
unanimous feedback from the community that the tribals had been extensively tutored by such
NGOs to vote against the mining plan. Hundreds of people belonging to NGOs (non-government
organization) and Niyamgiri Suresh Semite (NSS) surrounded the pallid Sabha spot and directly
and indirectly pressurized the voters. In violation of an obvious code of conduct, this prima
facie contradicted the spirit of the Supreme Court judgement as the hearing neither ran the risk
of neither becoming fair nor free from fear.
The tribals have been protesting against the mining project since about a decade before the
gram Sabha. The unanimous voting by all the Dungaria could have been the only the logical end
to their protest. Many hailed the verdict at the 12 people’s courts as a victory of indigenous
rights over company interests.
VAL signed a MoU with the Orissa Mining Corporation for a joint venture to mine bauxite ore
from Niyamgiri in 2003. Immediately after the paper work, rumblings at the ground level had
started as a groundswell against the BMP. In the decade between 2003, when the MoU was
signed and 2013, when the gram Sabha was conducted, the tribals were systematically and
strategically exposed to repeated anti Vedanta tirades. Village meetings, road shows and group
discussions were held at the villages. The anti-Vedanta protests by indigenous people and
farmers in Odisha were mirrored by demonstrations at the company’s London headquarters
and the United Nations in New York. Several World Development Movement people joined Foil
Vedanta and other groups at the London protests. These anti- Vedanta groups gained currency
with information support from the local groups which, though fragmented, came under one
roof, for this protest. Prominent British parliamentarians like John McDonnell MP made the
case in parliament for Vedanta and other ethically contentious mining companies to be strongly
regulated by the FCA, including possibly de-listed “because of their behaviour in the developing
32
world." Investors including the Church of England and the Norwegian government had pulled
their investments in the company over the planned Niyamgiri mine, giving force to campaigners
in India and abroad. There were a spate of high-profile divestments, a deluge of bad publicity,
not only deprived the company from the local mines, but also made the refinery process (by
bringing raw material from elsewhere to the refinery at Lanjigarh) much more expensive.
Such was the India government’s opposition to the project that in a letter to her Cabinet
colleague V. Kishore Chandra Deo, the Tribal Affairs Minister, Ms. Natarajan, the Environment
Minister had said: “According to the Supreme Court’s judgment and the Forest Rights Act,
rejection by even one pallid Sabha [village council] would require the project to be rejected.”
She had expressed concerns about the reaction of the State government to the decisions of the
village councils. “The State government may seek to turn its own agenda on its head and claim
that the small number of villages [which voted] meant that the decision was influenced by
‘vested interests.’ This would then become a battle over perceptions and the State may take
the issue back to court, prolonging the affair further.” This could be taken in context with what
happened as a distraught Ms. Natarajan when quitting the INC in 2015 was scathing in her
remarks about interference by Mr. Rahul Gandhi and her toeing the party line as quoted in The
Hindu (Friday, 30th Jan, 2015 and Wednesday, 4th Feb, 2015), “I have no shame in stating that I
was always a Gandhi family loyalist to the core….but I was let down by the party,” she said. “I
have only followed the party line and rule book on all environment issues. To protect the forest
rights of people and the rights of tribals in cases like Vedanta. There was no wrong doing on my
part.” She is also quoted as saying, “Specific inputs were received from the office of Rahul
Gandhi based on the representation by NGOs raising environment concerns on certain large
projects,” and lastly she has also stated that, the change in stance of the Congress vice-
president at a conference of FICCI in December 2013, where he virtually blamed her Ministry
for the bottleneck in clearing big-ticket projects worth millions, came as a “thunderbolt” from
the blue.
These statements taken in toto present a hoary picture of the entire affair and depict
interference very high in the value chain.
The company did not brook the early signs of lack of support from the Centre and faltered to
take up advocacy at the communities to tackle the issue at the origin. It seemed to engage itself
in unproductive labyrinth of state administration, without taking care of the backyard, which
fuelled the international campaign against the company.
“Storied” hate campaign
While the movement gained momentum with comprehensive support and leadership from
international NGOs Survival International, Amnesty International& Action-aid, the local tribal
33
leaders were actively involved in communicating stories in their own communities explained in
simple, popular and catchy local fables. Even today the leaders speak the same language. E.g.,
Lade Sakkara, Leader of the Dongria Tribe says confidentially, "Vedanta is going to harm our
Niyamgiri hill which is the place of our Niyamraja God. Our God has got angry that is why our
prayers and herbs which used to have magical cure earlier is not working anymore. The tribals
here live off the forest and do not want development at the cost of their forest.” Even today
the sentiment that "Vedanta has come here for its own interest not for our interest” runs high.
From the beginning, as early as 2003, the local political leadership had some reservations about
the project since it’s commissioning as the then influential leader of INC Mr. Rasa Bihari Behera
had written multiple articles in his local weekly “Arjji” about the project and its “ill effects”. A
few samples of the articles are attached (ANNEXURE:4). With time many other groups local &
international got involved. The major advocates and activists of the movement were Mr.B.Das,
Late. Mr. Kishan Pattnaik, Mr.L. Azad, Mr.P.Samantray to name a few. These names are
identified as the most prominent influencers in the process. This line formed the first line of
command and they have network of local contacts who act as a second line and the primary
duty of the second line is to communicate and handle the tribals and villagers. Recently, as a
part of our study, Mr.Behera observed that in 2003 and before two sets of expectations arose
amongst the people in the area: one who wanted to be compensated much beyond the
genuine price for their land and another set which didn’t want to leave the land for any price.
Interestingly the ground level situation has not changed in all these years.
In all the ground level developments dealing irreparable blows to the standing and reputation
of the company, the counter action from the company was ineffective. The management played
into the wrong hands to reach the primary stakeholders, the tribal villagers. Many of them
mentioned that the villages selected for gram sabha was probably an arbitrary decision and
done with some ulterior intentions which came a cropper. Going as per the project affected
people, we find that there are lot other villages which are physically located much closer to the
proposed site but have been ignored for Gram Sabha and some villages which are situated far
off have been included. There is a strong local gossip says that the company officials were also
involved in selecting the villages and some middle man were funded big to ensure success in
the voting but the final decision created further erosion to the company’s business and market
position. There is a strong perception today that the company is also on the lookout for a short
cut to lay their ‘hands on the mines’ and have never attempted to win tribal hearts and minds.
This apathy is fermenting a lot of unrest at the grassroots.
The Niyam Raja myth has been powerful and unbelievably influential. It was observed that the
Parvat Festival concept has been designed and celebrated in the last five to six years only. The
story took birth in 2007 when Niyam Raja’s command was delivered through a dongria priest
(with a dream message) that B.Das, the local politician would be the saviour of Niyamgiri’ and
that he would lead the battle for niyamgiri as Niyam Raja’s Senapati (General) from 2007
onwards. From here started a coordinated campaign and Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti was born.
34
This move clearly indicates that initially the tribals did not embrace the movement and the
leadership totally and hence nothing sort of a drama was staged to win confidence of the
tribals. It was and still remains the central story of the tribal sentiments. The basic intention of
the movement then was to create pressure and stage confusion so that the self-serving benefits
can be derived for the leaders in the long run. Today the tribals are counselled and influenced
to such an extent that any developmental or welfare initiatives by VAL is opposed, ab initio and
all the CSR and community work is viewed with suspicion, ‘If company gives us benefit in return
it will take our land and village from us’. The activists communicate that “for over a decade, the
8,000-plus Dongria Kondh lived under the threat of mining by Vedanta Resources, which hoped
to extract the estimated $2billion-worth of bauxite that lies under the surface of the hills. The
company planned to create an open-cast mine that would have violated Niyam Dongar,
disrupted its rivers and spelt the end of the Dongria Kondh as a distinct people.” Against these
effective emotion-surcharging campaigns, the community works to reach the people have been
sporadic and surprisingly unorganised. For example, Phuldumer and Khemdipadar, where VAL
has built a child care centre for the villagers, has been a symbol of ‘tokenism’ that the company
has been implementing, reflects Lado Sikaka from Lakhpadar.
Such deep running is the vilification of VAL that any internet search , even as remote as the
history of the districts to which the project belongs, results in damaging mention about the
company and the project.
Felix Padel, the anthropologist-activist who has gone international on the Vedanta issues said,
‘Sterlite might have the appearance of an Indian company, but is actually a multinational,
notorious for spiriting its profits out of India via Mauritius, big scale tax avoidance, and
repeated share scams, as well as particularly atrocious pollution from its copper smelter at
Tuticorin in south India, where regulations have been ignored. Now that it is linked to London
through Vedanta, the process of taking its profits out of India is streamlined’.
The 12 gram sabhas which started on 18th July 2013 at Serkapadi village in Rayagada district
ended with the last of the Gram Sabhas held on 19th August 13 in Jarapa village under
Muniguda block of Rayagada district. In most of the Gram Sabhas it was common to see more
than 250 Dongria kondhs from the villages and around 100 outsiders including International
NGOs like Action aid, Survival International, Amnesty International, local NGO representatives,
local and national media persons observing the Gram Sabhas. Tribal activist Kumuti Majhi of
Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti, Indu Netam from Chattishgarh, Bidulata Huika of Odisha Adivasi
Manch, Lingaraj from Farmer’s Movement, Environmentalist Prafulla Samantaray, Lingaraj
Azad, Bhala Sadangi of Lok Sangram Manch are some of the influencers of the movement who
witnessed the meetings that clearly voted against mining. This was surprising because allowing
outsiders to observe the Gram Sabhas, where the meetings are held in a supercharged
atmosphere almost tantamounted to external influence being openly allowed. There is no
statute against allowing outsiders but it is a matter of common understanding that insensitive
matters concerning the future of a large geographic area, future growth of a state and the
development of a world class aluminium hub, the brazen presence and provocation of outsiders
35
are unwarranted. But such was the extent of intervention of the activists and the international
NGOs that the entire Lanjigarh episode became the virtual raison d'être of all the activist-
ideologue-international pressure group combinations. In a strategic manner, all of them
camped in Lanjigarh, reported back to their international headquarters with ground reports,
and activated both the ends – Lanjigarh and London. So while the Gram Sabhas were heavily
influenced by these groups of men and NGOs in unison, international media cried hoarse about
the ill impact of the Project and created a global sensation and issue around the project. All this
was done in a well-coordinated campaign and Vedanta management team was left practically
transfixed and action less. Two foreigners were present at the 10th Gram Sabha at Lakhpadar
village (the epicentre of anti-Vedanta crusade) and were even taking pictures of Dongria
Kondhs, during the Gram Sabha. The two identified themselves as Dean Nelson and Simon
William, who claimed to be journalists of one English daily published from London. After this
incident, the then Collector of Rayagada Sashi Bhusan Padhi put restrictions on foreigners and
foreign journalist to attend Gram Sabha. But that was a late order and there were only two
more Gram Sabhas to be completed.
The community reach of all the international NGOs, activists and other influencers was
extensive and deep inside the community. Vedanta Aluminium, though had sketched the plans,
fell drastically short in going to the community, holding regular and extensive community
consultations sensitising them about a series of comprehensive environmental and community
impact assessments.
Extensive consultations with about 4000 - 5,000 people, including representatives from the
Dongria Kondh and Kutia Kondh communities, would have helped in educating and informing
the wider community in the detailed proposed project plans and utilisation plan of local
resources like - the sourcing of water for the refinery from a river situated more than 60km
from the project site in order to avoid using local water resources, and strengthening of the red
mud pond with superior reinforcing to the reservoir structure to protect local water sources
and improve safety, compensatory afforestation and the like. Besides reaching the community
with correct information, Vedanta Aluminium’s approach to community development should
have been intensive and strategic consultation, evaluation and assessment of the need of the
community. In the decade before the Gram Sabhas happened, the community was exposed to
only negative discourse about the project. It is exasperating to know that not a single voice was
heard in support of the project. This clearly indicates the lack of depth in community reach and
communication. It seemed as if VAL was superficial in its approach, had undermined the
sensitivities of the tribals for whom nature is “everything”. ‘Niyamgiri, the abode of Niyama
Raja, is like the Puri Jagannath temple for us. The hill range belongs to us. We can’t leave it at
any cost”, said Tanguru Majhi, the village head at Kunakhadu. VAL was completely out of sync
with the local sentiments, understanding and culture. At Kunakhadu 21 out of 22 voters, who
attended the meeting, voiced their opposition to the mining project. It might not be justified to
besmirch the anti-Vedanta brigade who parachuted from outside, which includes the
international activists, the media, the NGOs. In spite of most of them being outsiders, they
could succeed in communicating with the inhabitants and form an unflinching opinion. VAL also
landed at Lanjigarh from outside but could never strike a rapport with the local population,
36
both the Kalahandi and the Rayagada side. VAL was more “foreigner” to the local population
that the other foreigners (the anti-Vedanta brigade). A primitive tribal group needs proper
sensitisation about the projects and more so when it involves nature. Nature is their ultimate
reverence and sustenance. In Tadijhola, where the third gram sabha was conducted, the
Vigilance Judge Pramod Kumar Jena who presided over the sabha remarked, “It took me one
hour to trek the distance. I have not seen such a remote village, where there is no school,
hospital, power and other facilities.” And during the Gram sabha, Sugri Goud, the local
traditional healer (“Jani” in their kui language), an 87-year-old woman said “Niyamgiri provides
us everything and we will not allow mining either by the government, Vedanta or any other
company. We are ready to die as we cannot think of life without Niyamraja.” Out of the 19
adults who attended, 10 were men and nine women. All the villagers, in unison requested the
judge to convey their feelings to the Supreme Court. This syndrome needs to be understood by
the VAL management in depth. If a large project is envisaged, then the most critical first step is
to “belong” to the community. Operating from the periphery by VAL has resulted in the
stalemate and reversals in the mining plans. Mines is the food of the VAL project and Niyamgiri
is the food bowl. VAL couldn’t have eyed the food bowl ignoring the caretakers of generations.
This was viewed by the locals as aggressive intrusion into their lives and this local sentiment
was shaped by the anti-Vedanta lobby to be a mammoth international movement and resulted
in huge setback for VAL. In-depth community outreach is essential, desirable and indispensable.
Odisha government has recently filed a new interlocutory application before the apex court on
25th February, 2016. The application has been moved by the state body OMC (Odisha Mining
Corporation) to challenge the Vedanta bauxite mine judgement of the Supreme Court. The
application claims that Forest Rights Act and its rules do not require any consent from the Gram
Sabha for use of forestlands if government decides that the rights of people have been settled.
The main contention of OMC is that resolutions of Gram Sabha rejecting mining cannot remain
perpetually in force. The OMC seeks constant review of decisions of the Gram Sabha because it
is dynamic and that members who had taken decisions rejecting mining are no more.
It is but obvious that OMC would question the 2013 resolutions of the 12 gram sabhas of the
Dongaria Kondh, Kutia Kondh and other tribal communities on the basis of technical errors
committed during the passage of the resolutions rejecting mining. There is strong argument
extended that tribal communities have exceeded their powers by declaring an entire plateau,
the entire area, much beyond the area identified as the abode of Niyam-Raja as sacred. The
court proceedings are on and would be a long-drawn process to establish the rights of the
tribals in terms of their settlements, their religious rights, beliefs and their practices. But what
come out clearly are the following observations, including the Saxena report, which are vexing,
to say the least:
1. Since 2003, the company did nothing effective to touch the lives of the tribals barring a
few sporadic and random community programs under their CSR. This created further
alienation and proved counterproductive.
37
2. The government and the district authorities have conducted the Gram Sabhas in a much
‘casual and arbitrary’ manner not befitting a high value investment of this nature which
has much promise for the growth of one of the most backward areas of India and the
state. Much has been discussed about the manner in which the 12 villages were
selected, the seriousness of gram sabha proceedings with open interference from
general public and activists.
3. The company, the activists and the government have left the tribals in the lurch. Even
today there are no roads to the villages, leave aside health and education services.
Recently the daughter of Lado Sikkaka passed away due to lack of medical attention.
The village infrastructure lay in shambles. (see the pictures).
[Road to Lakhpadar village in K.Singhpur Block, Rayagada District]
[Lakhpadar village in K.Singhpur Block, Rayagada District]
38
4. On closer study of the Saxena committee report, which has been referred multiple times
during the Supreme Court argument, we have reasons to observe that the panel was not
competent enough to take a neutral and 360 degree view on the subject as it didn’t have a
geologist or earth science expert and a developmental economist in the panel. This is
rudimentary and is necessary to conduct a study on mining & community life of a primitive
tribe. The report also doesn’t clearly specify whether any panel member of the said
committee had ever visited the sites and the villages under discussion. With two retired
bureaucrats and two sociologists it is impossible to conduct an on-the-ground evaluation in
a difficult terrain and complete coverage of such a mega project fraught with the social
complexities.
In the labyrinth of bureaucracy, legal complications, government approvals and activists’

rabble rousing, the primary stakeholders have been grossly neglected and literally
abandoned. Till date, in the last over 12 years, the company has not made any attempts to
elicit the social licence to operate (SLO) which is the level of acceptance or approval by the
tribals and the other communities and stakeholders of the mining operations. In Lanjigarh,
SLO should have evolved fairly in the last decade from the broader implementation of CSR
but as mentioned earlier, the CSR has fallen short of the desired impacts. VAL needs not
only government permission (or permits) but also “social permission” to conduct the entire
operations.
It is becoming increasingly evident that having an SLO could have lent VAL enough popular
support which could have exerted social pressure on agencies from elected governments to
willingly grant operational permits or licences. It is imperative gaining an SLO as an
appropriate business expense that would ultimately add to the bottom line. Consequently,
guidelines and initiatives to build and maintain SLOs could have been developed.
There is hardly any other case like Jitu Jikashka (Jika), an energetic, community youth who
completely reversed his overtures towards VAL. Probably he is the only vocal advocate of
the Project, who converted from extremes, when he quipped ‘the time has come to fight;
there is no time to waste. That is why we are stopping the bulldozers… Even if we die, we
will not let Niyamgiri go. That is why we want you to join our struggle.’ (Jika, 2008) to a time
when he impressed that ‘I realised that this mining project will not have a detrimental effect
on our livelihood and culture in any way. It would rather usher in development in our area.’
(Jika, national TV interview 2010). In two years Jika did a 180 degree spin realising the
futility of the community uprising but he alone has not been able to salvage the lost
engagement with the community. He is multi lingual and initially acted as a local guide but
has not been successful in taking the community along or enhancing his clout in the
community to help in large scale sensitisation about the Project. Hence his influence has
been limited and at the most, can be showcased as an individual case in the media.
39
The series of events, mostly pre-Gram Sabha show an interesting trend. While activism was at
its peak at the international, national, state levels the local rumblings at the ground level have
been completely ignored and the entire focus was misplaced. Quite in tandem, when one
political party was raking up the issue in a negative tone, almost immediately the ruling party
and the representatives used discourses for a counter offensive. While both were fighting it out
at the state capital, the ground situation was worsening day by day completely neglected by
VAL ultimately peaking at the botched-up Gram Sabhas.
Understanding the Stakeholders
Many important and on-the-ground stakeholder issues historically have been managed with a
“short term & placatory approach”. There were no long-term solutions or routes suggested or
implemented. Thus, the community, instigated by vested interests, frequently raise matters
with the purpose to exact compensations and payoffs. Some major agitations have been:
1. A 50-day protest outside of the main gate concerning the payments for land acquired to
develop the red mud pond as early as 2003 and other additional benefits. Our
understanding is that Vedanta had settled the community’s original demands (e.g. lump
sum payments, training provision, CSR initiatives and some infrastructure development)
and entered an agreement with the villagers prior to the development of the red mud
pond. However, the villagers sought a revised term (i.e. Rs.5 lakh as opposed to Rs.3
lakh applicable from 2006 onwards), even though having been paid lump sum earlier.
Though Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Council (RPDAC) discussed
the issue and stood for Vedanta, the local people had not agreed with the RPDAC
findings;
2. Demand for a designated new route and for a school bus service. The villagers
continued using the ‘kutcha’ road between Rengopalli and Basantapada even though
this road should have been terminated on public safety grounds and things turned so
unfavourable that Vedanta had to request for police protection during the construction
work. There was a 6-hour stand-off between some locals and the police on 21 January
2012 and following an alleged stone-throwing incident the police arrested 47 people
who were later released on bail. These individual incidents accumulated and helped the
activists to plan and execute a vicious attack on VAL and the indigenous people fell prey
to the conspiracies. These agitations could have been resolved by VAL in a much better
and strategic manner giving way to a sustainable and long lasting community
partnership. But the community thread was completely snapped and ill timed, right
before the 2013 Gram Sabhas. The activists and the NGOs took advantage of the
situation and Vedanta was further condemned by the international media.
As this report is being written, we are aware that the Odisha government via Odisha Mining
Corporation (OMC) has committed to arrange bauxite supply for Vedanta’s beleaguered
alumina refinery by March 2017. This supply could be from Niyamgiri or other deposits like
40
Kodingamalli and VAL has reportedly earmarked an investment of more than Rs 50,000 crore
based on the assurance. But there is a nagging fear of emergence of Niyamgiri-like agitation by
community and NGOs at Kodingamalli or other areas. VAL has been on record committing to
protection of environment but it is not only about the protection of the environment. The social
approval is of prime importance. As far as the government is concerned, resolution of issues
surrounding the project will boost investors’ confidence in the state.
The different classes of people around have different level of understanding about the Project,
which leads to varied perceptions and reactions. For VAL to be successful all these stakeholders
are to be taken on board and a long term, fruitful, sustainable and mutually beneficial plan
needs to be worked out. To draw up the action plan the real ground situation has to be
understood in detail and analysed properly.
Stakeholder Groups
1. The Tribal Communities: The custodian, guardian, the curator and the overseer of the
entire geography and demography is the local primitive tribal community, which is quite a
heterogeneous group. Even as we are writing this report, the external world has not
understood the tribals completely. As fundamental as this - when the General Secretary of
INC, Rahul Gandhi had visited a village Ijirupa it was reported by the local, national and the
international media that he had visited a Dongria Kondh village. This is not true. Ijirupa is a
Gaud (Other Backward Caste) village and the nearest Dongria Kondh village is a 3 hour of
trek from Ijirupa. Such is the apathy of the outside world. The tribals form the majority in
the area and there are a few SC communities. The tribals have been ‘abused’ as mute
subjects of stories written to serve the selfish interests of political parties, touts, and
authorities and the so called tribal ‘leaders’ have been reduced to nothing more than being
stooges of the political handlers on one side and the international ‘motivated’ NGOs on the
other.
The local tribals can be divided into three categories:
Kutia Kondh : These are the people who are settled at the foothills and are well
connected to the rest of the world. Literacy rate is better than the other two tribal
groups and materially also they are better off. More importantly they understand the
benefits of industrialisation, commerce and the local engagement in gainful
employment or vocations.
Jharnia Kondh : They stay in the mid hills or valleys within the hills. Their set up is
located near one of water streams and with low literacy rates which is almost nil, they
are partially exposed to the mainland society through some known contacts or age old
business links. Invariably they make weekly trips to come down to the markets (haats)
for selling produce, collecting their needs and go back. The water stream in local
language is called “Jharan”, from where they have derived their names.
41
Dongria Kondh: The term “Dongar” means ‘the hill top’ and so indicates that these are
the tribals who reside at the hill top. The villages they stay in are accessible only by foot,
their literacy rate is nil and till date they are leading a primitive life style. However off
late the only thing which has changed is their dressing pattern. This is the effect of the
weekly interaction they have with the main land for selling their produce. The lack of
access to basic amenities in most of these core villages remains a big issue. The entire
population in discussion has an average literacy rate of 6.15% which is far below the
national average of tribal literacy.
Caste Break up
OBC ST SC
70 21 861
The Dongria Kondh group which formed almost 91% of the total population in the gram
sabha is the most active of all the groups. These are the people instrumental in driving the
agitation against VAL and even destroyed the two child care centres established by VAL at
Khemdipadar and Phuldumer. The level of resistance is so high that anyone intending to do
42
anything in the area has to go through a scrutiny to determine the Project’s affiliation with
VAL. If found affiliated, they are rejected outright and literally driven out.
2. The Local Business &Trading Community. This group has a positive view towards the
project and they wish it to be successful as a full capacity-run plant will bring in more
revenues to the local market increasing the spending capacity of people ultimately
benefiting the health of business; hence this positivity augurs well for sensitising the
local population. The business community is involved in charitable initiatives through
associations like “Marwari Yuva Manch” which provides a platform for helping build up
social opinion towards the project. The business community is directly associated with
all the strata of the society and their communication network could be effectively
utilised to reduce the negativity and build positive opinion. The civil society is vulnerable
and fragmented and hence there is scope for efforts to build better cohesion among the
development organisations for the betterment of the area and with a proactive business
community, the civil society could become more responsible.
3. The Civil Society, which is divided on the issue of VAL project. More with the influence
of the Bhawanipatna based activists like the Surakshya Samiti, many are given to joining
the chorus in lacerating VAL. Over the last decade there have been systematic
interventions by lot of parties to create a negative perception about the project which
should have been countered by VAL. But our investigations showed there were no PR
efforts at the ground level. This is about the towns like Lanjigarh, Muniguda, Rayagada
and Bhawanipatna. We found out that most of the literate, academicians are for the
project as they are able to comprehend the long term impact of a successful project like
VAL but the wave of negativity all around, drowns their voice. VAL has never effectively
brought the supporters together and create a forum. Albeit delayed, but this can be
done and would improve the support base a lot more. Regular interventions should be
planned at local level to build a positive WOM (Word of Mouth). The civil society at the
impact area has different aspirations, their major intentions is to get material benefit
from the project directly or indirectly. For example every household in the impact area
expect their educated ward to be an employee of the VAL and others expect to get
some indirect benefit from the project in terms of contracts or sundry outsourced work.
While the civil society partnership has not been done by VAL, there are lots of rumours
floating about nepotism by VAL. So both in recruitment and in awarding work contracts,
the common perception is that there is no transparent mechanism followed by the
management which encourages open participation from the general society. If this
crony capitalism is not given further wind then this will help in bringing in competitive
advantage and people would up skill themselves to meet the requirements of the
business. In turn this would help in reversing the perception of favouritism by VAL. This
will result in bridging the communication gap between the company and the society
thereby reducing the negative perception. The local people in and around the impact
area assume that all the employment seekers of the area should be absorbed by the
project which is practically not possible. Lack of exposure, the inherent homesickness of
43
the people from the state and skill gap are three major reasons leading to
unemployment in the area. The organization should pitch in both formal and informal
mode of skilling to increase employability of the local youth and then consider a rational
number of local people for employment. VAL should not commit about the exact
number of employments, even before doing a needs assessment. Because, VAL’s
previous commitments, in other things, have already spoilt the reputation.
4. The Activists: The impact area being a primarily a tribal area attracts activists. The
activists acting in the area can be divided into different categories:
A. Pseudo activists
B. Dummy activist
C. Activist with a purpose
D. Activist out of compulsion
E. Activist out of ignorance
F. Genuine activist
This observation is based on our interactions with different sections of people and
spending considerable time with them to understand the networks, the activities and
the sphere of influence. A stakeholder analysis for only the activists groups was
undertaken to better understand the underlying currents. 2006-2007 onwards there
was a heavy inflow of activists from all over the country and the globe to Lanjigarh. It
was to take advantage of a situation where there wasn’t much response from either the
government or the company and to make matters easy for the activists this allowed
them to go international with primitive tribal groups’ story in the teeth of global mining
and mineral conglomerate. It couldn’t have been easier for the activist. Today, after all
the ebb in the community problems and failures in gram sabha, the activists have all
disappeared. We didn’t come across even a single activist during our field visits – both
to the towns and the mining areas. A social activist, even without any high profile
engagement of protesting against mining, should be consistently trying to help the
tribals who even today are the same people, bereft of a good life. Where are they to
help the marginalised population? They have all disappeared to probably huddle up
again when there is a highly visible international media capturing their tokenism of
providing “support” to the beleaguered primitive tribal groups.
Category A: These are the white collar activists and problem mongers who love to fish in
muddy water. These are the people who just wait for any kind of information and fly in
for photo ops add some star value, take advantage of the conflict to build their own
brand image and fly out the moment it cools down or they find some other spicier
subject or better scope to encash a situation to their benefit. These activists get phased
out with time and have no grass root level reach. But we observed that some of these
characters are accorded importance by VAL, which is unnecessary and not strategic.
Padel, Das & Amitav Patra
44
Category B: Dummy activist is in the front as the face of the movement because of some
compulsion in strategizing the activities. They justify the apolitical angle of the
movement there by protecting the interest of the real handler, covertly. With partial
understanding or narrow view on the subject either they are exploited or sometimes
benefit to a sizable extent. In either case they exist and the handlers in the background
decide their action. This category needs strategic handling for neutralization as they
don’t become easily irrelevant. Being the local faces they don’t fade out easily. e.g P.
Samantray, L.Azad
Category C: A smart lot who identify benefit from a conflict soon. Being networked and
swift they try to exploit the situation to the best of their benefit and hold the ground till
long. Toughest lot to handle and the perseverance skills are very high. An excellent
networker and never want to miss any window of opportunity. Should be monitored
closely as they possess the patience to stay longer. e.g. Dukhu Bohidar
Category D: The biggest workforce under the circumstances. They are the ground level
political activists who have no regular earning and struggle to meet their day-to-day
needs. A conflicting situation like this brings revenue for them. Having grass root
connections, they are instrumental in the movement. A strategic frame work is required
to keep these people occupied in productive work. If handled properly, they can turn
around the situation and be helpful. e.g Sadananda Naik
Category E: All the tribal activists who have been used as ‘poster boys’ fall in this
category. They act as per the instructions of Category-D, but absolute control can’t be
exercised on them. Lack of education and basic amenities have already made their life
tough and they have nothing more to lose. Sensitising this category of local people is the
biggest challenge. Illiteracy and poverty has made them stubborn and indurate. A long
term action plan and strong steps to include them as stake holders is required. e.g.
Tangru Majhi, Gato Majhi, Lado Sikaka
Category F: These are people who have genuine concerns for the local tribals and the
under developed areas. They can be brought on board with genuine developmental
framework. They would not hesitate even to participate in the process if convinced.
Could not find one.
5. The Major Political Parties: The three major political parties active in the area are INC
(Indian National Congress), BJD (Biju Janta Dal) and BJP ( Bharatiya Janata Party). The
sway of the local dynamics, so far, has been with Bhakta Das who was earlier a Janata
Dal Member and later joined INC. He has access to the remote villages in the area and
has a regular communication network with the villages. There is a group of handlers at
Bhawanipatna, supposedly with his blessings, who manage the activists in the local area,
Lanjigarh and the villages. The local activists in turn influence the tribals through a
network of one to two handlers in each village who are bilingual (Kui and the local
dialect of Odia). The BJD group is perceived to be the favoured group in the area and
45
have good business interest attached in the area, but with a marginal reach at the tribal
population. They have not played an influential role in the imbroglio and there is a
strong local perception that ‘it’s because of them the tribals have lost faith in the state
government and the VAL officials’. The BJP is building up in the area and though they are
not vocal so far, but the followers of the party have a good reputation in the area, as
being neutral. To handle the situation in the area all these three active parties need to
be thoroughly sensitised. It seems from the series of events that the political activism
has attracted a lot of attention of the VAL senior stake holders and this has resulted in
the ‘undermining’ of the ground realities. It is not only the VAL authorities but the
political stake holders have grossly failed to gauze the gravity of the situation. What
started as a ‘your policy vs. my policy’ fight had taken a shape of larger community level
dissatisfaction which spiralled beyond control at a later date. The protest against the
project has started since its inception which has been ignored from the very first day,
literally. Our team also met Mr.Ras Bihari Behera the senior congress leader in the area
who runs a local newspaper Arjji. It was the same paper which had raised concerns
about the project as early as 2004. The concern he had then was ‘why only the refinery
was being set up and why not the entire integrated aluminium plant’. Since the
aluminium plant has been setup at Jharsuguda, the local feeling was that the company
had only the interest in the raw materials at Niyamgiri and that the day the bauxite
deposits exhausted, the plant will be shut. This has been one of the first unattended to
concerns. This misconception could have been resolved with proper counselling, as the
public sector undertaking NALCO has managed with the refinery plant at Damanjodi and
the Aluminium plant in Angul. Strategically Aluminium plants are ideally set up near
coal-available areas because of their heavy dependence on thermal power. The
interesting fact in this area is that all the political leaders, with different party
affiliations, have common links in the area and directly or indirectly benefit from their
fraternity. We sense that there is a strong nexus active under the garb of political
partisan, which is a front. The political leadership is all united and acting at the behest of
each other, albeit inconspicuously.
6. Local Government Officials: Another powerful insight we gathered was that most of the
locally posted government officials belong to other parts of the state so they are not
completely connected to the ground or have demonstrated the necessary interest to
understand the local culture, people and the practices of the indigenous communities.
The same can be said of the VAL management. The staff members who are in direct
touch with the communities and the CSR should have specific language skills and the
deep understanding of the local communities. The area and the population comes with
specificities – like language, lifestyle, practices which are very different and unique.
Without proper assimilation or understanding, working with the communities is
perceived to be ‘superficial’. Some of the local officials whom we met have cited many
instances when the VAL officials and the locals have had conflicts on flimsy grounds,
which could have been easily solved without making them complicated. For public
servants the area is still considered to be a hardship posting because of inadequate
infrastructure in terms of education, health care and connectivity. The police actions
46
have been of considerable concern in the past when vocal leaders like Lado Sikaka, and
Sena Sikaka had been picked up by police in presence of Mr.Siddharth Naik while on the
way to New Delhi for a meeting. Mr. Naik is a prominent Bhawanipatna based, anti-
Vedanta activist and has been the President of Green Kalahandi. This is not the only case
and there are several instances which has created a negative impact on the local people,
as there is a strong feeling that VAL in close connivance with the local authorities has
been instrumental in getting the leading protesters arrested under the pretext of them
being Maoists (sympathisers of left wing extremism).This impression about VAL is still
fresh in the minds of people and is still pointed out during discussions. The interactions
with the villagers also revealed a great level of dissatisfaction in terms of access
instruments like voter ID, Aadhar card, Ration card etc. The penetration of such
instruments is extremely low resulting in deprivation from benefits of government
schemes.
The Disconnect
Interactions with the villagers clearly indicate there is a disconnect between VAL officials
and the local population beyond Lanjigarh. Even in Lanjigarh area the VAL authorities
are identified with one group of people who belong to or have allegiance to a specific
political party. Same is the case at the state level. Any business house when identified
clearly with one political party is destined to have problems in pockets where the
political clout of the particular party is weak and nebulous.
A major area of concern is the loss of credibility of the VAL officials in the area. In the
village Ijirupa where only one family voted in the gram sabha, the villagers don’t
hesitate to speak on camera that they have been given false promises and ‘outsiders’
are being absorbed by VAL against hefty bribes. They said that ‘neither they are asking
us any bribe nor are they absorbing our people. They are only buying time and we are
now fed up with them.’ Enquiring about the truth about the allegations in not the
purpose of this paper but the perception created among locals is negative and is not a
healthy sign.
The core area population is deprived of basic amenities like livelihood, shelter,
communication, health care, and education which are issues never been taken up
seriously. One rehab colony has been built in Lanjigarh, but no such community
initiatives are visible in the voting villages. A village like Ijirupa which has a few qualified
youths aspiring to be a part of the project expecting a better life style also feel ‘cheated’
today because of long standing promise of absorption with no result.
It has been observed that in the past there have been development initiatives taken up
by VAL like child care centre at Khemdipadar and Phuldumer, Leaf plate making unit,
Strawberry plantations to name a few but as on date all those facilities stand unutilized
47
or destroyed. On enquiry it was found that the same mainly happened during agitations
and the destruction activities have been done by the tribal communities of uphill. This
clearly shows a lack of communication or initiative at the ground level. When the
facilities were functional and operating a little bit of PR exercise could have saved these
efforts.
We came across people who had business interest with the plant in terms of vehicle
lease or petty contracts but were deprived of the same because of their identification
with the agitating group(s). this could have been handled in a much better way as with
negotiations and discussion these people could have been convinced with better
reasons than antagonising them and making them activists. Being an underdeveloped
area losing an income source becomes an emotive issue for a family which leads to
strong reactions.
VAL has initiated efforts in the core area but for a region that has been ignored for ages,
the situation was grossly underrated. These are areas where the government machinery
has also not reached to the last village but because of their business interests the
villagers have been exposed to the benefits people avail in the plain lands. The
propaganda spread about the tribals being content and happy is a myth, as they also
have aspirations and material desires but primarily due to lack of education they are
unable to articulate. A thorough research into and continuous engagement with the
community can only bring out the true aspirations and accordingly their developmental
activities can be planned.
The profiles of the villages are a clear indicator of the condition they live in. Lack of basic
amenities like education, health service and electricity is a distant dream for them, even
after 13 or more years of a world class greenfield project in the area. The popular
perception is that the communities are happy the way they are. This perception has
been intentionally created over time because the local intellectuals strongly believe that
this probably helped everyone – all the external stakeholders not to go to the difficult
areas and implement social development activities.
VAL have been undertaking community initiatives but most of them ill planned, short
sighted and non-sustaining. As a result of many of these half-baked, episodic attempts
which look more like ‘appeasements’, the big picture of total area development has
been missing. Some of the community initiatives are mentioned below.
The Community Initiatives by VAL-Lanjigarh

Since Inception VAL has taken up several initiatives across the villages in and around the
plant. It is worthwhile to mention here that in the first phase of 4 years the initiatives
has been quite fruitful and made significant contributions to the lives of people. The
quality of life of the people significantly improved over the four year period from 2004
48
to 2008. As per the report of an external agency commissioned, the following have been
the major achievements till 2008 in about 89 villages in a radius of 10kms:
 Infant Mortality Rate reduced from 200 to 75 per thousand live births
 Child malnutrition down from 58% to 31%
 Immunization increased from 35% to 71%
 Malarial death dropped from 80% to 20%
 School drop-out rate down from 70% to 20%
 School attendance increased from 45% to 86%
 Farm manday’s employment increased from 120 to 250 days
 Surface irrigation increased 35% through stream diversion method
 More than 750 acres of land came under vegetable cultivation
 Crop failure reduced nearly 50% due to improved cultivation techniques, plant
protection
 Roads, drains, tube-wells, enabled communication, hygienic sanitation and potable
water for 50,000+ people
The initiatives, their visibility and impact started frittering away when the protests were on the
upswing. The present day situation can be summarized as follows:
 The water supply systems in the core villages has been provided for by VAL but none of
the villagers acknowledged the support of VAL for this essential activity which is saving
them lives.
 Same is the case with individual solar panels provided in the villages. Only at Ijirupa
some of the villagers mentioned about a NGO handing over the panels and then said “
yes probably these have been supplied by company”. An interesting observation is that
while in a remotely located village like Kunakadu the coverage of this distribution have
been 100% (all the houses have a panel each) but better located villages like Ijirupa,
Phuldumer and Palberi don’t have complete coverage. Over 65% of the solar panels
need repair and are not in working conditions.
 The mobile health unit is non-functional in the core villages. The para medic service and
medicine distribution at Trilochanpur is also badly affected. During our visit we realized
that the operations of medicine distribution in the area is undertaken without disclosing
the initiative as VAL sponsored. It is promoted as a State Govt initiative. However after
the recent LWE threats the activity has come to a standstill.
 The leaf plate making units are non-functional now. We found the units closed during
our visit.
 The child care center at Khemdipadar and Phuldumer has been destroyed by the
agitating villagers and today the semi destroyed structures are deserted.
 The hospital of VAL is one of the major contributions in the area but not being used by
the tribals. So strong is the aversion of the tribals that they consider it almost ‘unethical’
to use the services of the hospital. Anybody from the community using the hospital
facilities is considered an ‘outcast’ from the community.
 The epicenter of the protest, Lakhpadar has only water connectivity under Project Trupti
but individual households don’t have solar panel like other villages.
49
There is no doubt that since its inception VAL has taken up developmental initiatives in the area
but today even the footprints of the said initiatives are not visible except in few places like the
NVN colony and the Mid-day meal scheme. There are many agencies (mostly fledgling NGOs
without any community base, inroads & long term perspectives) working on different projects
funded by the company but are operating undercover and without resulting in any social
benefits or advantages legitimately due to the company.
There is utter lack of any strategic push to reach out to the villages with long lasting, credible
and visible developmental agenda. The information shared by the company is outdated and
blasé. For example, in the website of the company there is a link taking a visitor to the success
story of Phuldumer village. The truth today is that the village site having child care center and a
livelihood unit have been destroyed and no company representative ever visits the place. In
another literature there is a mention that Phuldumer is a Dongria Kondh village whereas in
reality the village has a mix population of both SC and ST with 30:70 compositions. In fact
among the 12 core villages this is the only village to have this kind of a mix. There is no attempt
by VAL and its people to reach out to the villages with developmental programs which would
change the face of the tribals, who are in dire need of basic amenities. This carries the scope of
showcasing VAL as an organization which can turn the landscape and its primitive tribes from
one in deprivation to one in appreciation. But so far VAL seems to have completely missed the
bus. There has been no midway course correction which could have improved the situation, as
the famous quote of Eisenhower goes “plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”. The
community development should have had a holistic approach and not piecemeal intent. While
executing a lot of practical difficulties had come up which could have been rectified through a
proper monitoring and course correction. But on the contrary the projects, often need based
have been abandoned, to the advantage of none – neither the community, nor the company.
Post 2009, any developmental activity by the company has been viewed suspiciously by the
community. Every single move by the company has been seen as an attempt to ‘cajole the
villagers to help the company snatch the mines’ from them. The well-coordinated campaign by
the international groups/ lobbyists, NGOs have driven a deep running wedge between the
community and the company which could have been bridged. But there has been no intense,
whole hearted community development work implemented by VAL to be a ‘friend in need’ of
the community, which is small in number and feel gullible. The vulnerability and gullibility has
been ‘utilised’ by the interest groups to oppose VAL and the BMP. VAL had to deal with the
blow because of its own lack of understanding of the community and deployment of its
resources including human resources to spread the message of growth and prosperity through
viable and sustained community programs and not ‘one off, small time projects’ which run out
of steam in no time because they have not been demand-driven (need based).
The anti-VAL fervor has been so damaging that the rumor mongers are deriding even the mid-
day meal initiative as a ‘business venture of VAL’ where the company is ‘minting money’ from
the state government. The word of mouth is strong and in local parlance the community people
told us that ‘they (meaning VAL) are fooling us by claiming that they are running welfare
schemes’.
50
A snapshot of the few VAL community programs is given in the table below:
51
Development Initiatives taken by VAL over the years

Type of
Initiative Description Coverage Objective Execution Partner Present Status
Punnaruthan
Voluntary
Organisation, Maa
Around 1000 Households of Santoshi Jan Kalyan
Malijubang and Trilochanpur Doorstep health services for Trust, Sarvodaya
Monthly Health Camps GP the tribal population Vikas Samiti Not functional
To upgrade the district HQ
hospital in terms of
infrastructure and the Onetime Project
Health Initiative
Up gradation of facility to enable better over with no follow

Government Hospital Bhawanipatna service to the population up action.
To provide medical Sarvodaya Vikas Struggling to provide
assistance to nearby Samiti, Shanti the intended
Rural Health Outlet Trilochanpur villages in the GP Maitri services
Running as the only
live project to
connect with the
Employability skill community youths
Lanjigarh and nearby areas of enhancement and and the next
Yuva Pragati Kendra & both Kalahandi & Rayagada placement facilitation of generation people
Rural BPO District the youth of the area. FIDR from the core areas
Stitching Leaf plates and
selling in the local market
Livelihood Initiative
to provide additional
earning means to the rural
Leaf Plate Making unit Sivapadar GP households Sadhana Not functional
Collective Bargaining for To ensure fair price for the
fair price of the tribal tribal produce of the area Mahashakti
produce Trilochanpur GP which are normally sold at Foundation Not functional
52
local market at distress

price.
Facilitating better harvest

by supporting farmers with
seeds, fertilizers and
Agri Input Support Gandhani Village pesticides. Sadhana Not visible
Running &
perceived as a ‘for
profit’ venture of
To increase attendance in VAL and NOT as a
the Govt. Schools and community
Mid day Meal Across 275 schools in the local providing hygienic food to development
distribution vicinity the students Naandi Foundation initiative
To impart pre-school
education and child care at
Child Care Centers Kemdipadar, Phuldumer the doorstep Not functional
Education Initiatives
Running as a token
project. There is no
social mobilization
Villages from Muniguda, To promote play school and hence low
Ramangunda and Rayagada education at 2 centers for KISS & Vedanta attendance and low
Pre School Education Block the deprived tribal children Foundation impact.
Provide light to the
Izirupa, Phuldumer, Palberi, individual households of Over, but
Individual Household Kunakadu, Tadijhola ( the village through grid Mahashakti households still left
Solar Electrification Trilochanpur GP) based solar lights Foundation & TERI untouched
Project completed
Infrastructure
successfully in the
core villages but
Across the Tribal villages of Linking the perennial without any
Project Trupti Both Rayagada & Kalahandi streams to the village. branding of VAL
53
Over. There are

To have a micro grid at technical challenges
individual villages which can which are yet to be
ensure a light, a fan and a KIIT TBI, solved and so the
Micro Grid of Solar 1000 households of charging point for the Ramakrishna Seva services are often
Electrification Trilochanpur & Sibapadar GP household. Kendra disrupted.
Linking the tribals with the
Govt. insurance schemes
like Nirman Shramik Yojna, Mahashakti
Aam admi bima yojna Trilochanpur GP Aam Admi Bima Yojna etc. Foundation Running
Linking the senior citizens
of the tribal villages with
Others
the old age pension scheme The Human

Old age pension Trilochanpur GP of the Govt. Development Running
54
As mentioned previously, the wide communication gap has made the people vulnerable
politically and people who have access to them misuse them for any purpose they want.
They have been brain washed systematically for last ten years against the project which we
cannot expect to change overnight. Strategically the communities need to be mainstreamed
and the exposure to the open world will give them the knowledge and the vision which can
bring in maturity and this would enable them to seek solutions for issues through
discussions and deliberations.
A co-ordinated effort of the company, the development agencies and the state and central
machinery is required to first bring basic amenities to them which is their fundamental right.
They have to be made aware about their rights as citizens which can influence the thought
process. It is a time taking process which requires a clear road map and all stake holders
need to be converged.
The overall literacy rate of the population is 6.75% and during the study it was found that in
most of the cases it’s the children who are going to school are literates. So the adult
population who were the voters are mostly illiterate and ignorant. This has resulted in an
unusual credulity and obduracy in the people (all anti-VAL directed).
Here the question asked by the honourable Supreme Court becomes relevant, “is the
population we are talking about completely aware of the situation and can they take an
informed decision?” This one question, though simple and straight, has been ignored by all.
While getting the stage-1 clearance the state and VAL both agreed to the conditions laid
down unconditionally but the implementation of the same at the ground level is not visible.
The villages in question are deprived of all the basic amenities required and the efforts
initiated looks cosmetic rather than real and determined. But at the same time the
rehabilitated colony project at Vedanta Niyamgiri looks like a serious effort. This is a
population whose literacy rate and exposure is much better than the Gram Sabha villages
and so negotiating with them was certainly easier. But no special endeavour was put in the
‘voting’ villages which strangely the VAL authorities seem to have taken less seriously while
initiating developmental actions.
It also have been observed few individuals have been relied upon to convince the tribal
population to vote in favour of mining, may be lot of unaccounted for dealings had also
happened during the event if gossips are to be believed but these were people who were
either touts or thugs, who prospered well by assuring favourable results which were beyond
their scope. A strong possibility of an unholy nexus between officials and the group also a
matter to be investigated as it is beyond common understanding how huge amounts were
relied upon few individuals on expectation of a favourable result. There are allegations that
the villages were even selected in consultation with these middle-men which later on went
against the proposal.
53
The politicians may have started using them thinking that they can be managed easily but
the situation later has gone beyond everyone’s control. As on date the population stands
with multiple handlers but no controller.
The Gram Sabha decisions were all unanimous and that’s the indicator that the build up
against the mining was very strong whereas VAL and OMC both missed the bus during the
build-up. It’s tough to interpret whether it was over confidence or ignorance. However
being the first ever environment referendum in the country we shouldn’t lose hope looking
at the result, but no efforts were made at ground level either to understand the mood or to
do some damage repair for a better result.
On the mention of the efforts to have another round of Gram Sabha to secure the
possibilities of accessing Niyamgiri hills, the quick repartee of locals is that “Govt wanted us
to vote we voted, why again Gram Sabha? We haven’t changed mind or don’t see any
benefit of changing the stance.” This is another indicator that post the gram sabha in 2013
no community relations’ exercise has been done and even any minimum attempt of
connecting with the community has been tried.
The entire community is a matriarchal society and females are more involved in earning and
providing for the subsistence than the male population. There has not been any specific
effort initiated in the area till date for women development. This society, with all
international hype, is still not mainstreamed and in many cases the left-wing extremists are
in touch with the communities.
The major reasons can be categorised as follows:

The community’s lack of education and exposure had made them vulnerable which has
been exploited by the activist to create a negative wave.
Lack of any communication from VAL authority or state government officials had created a
huge communication gap. For example in case of recruitment, it is not practically possible
for a plant to absorb all the aspiring people in the area but some strategic interventions
could be planned. There is skill gap which exists between the VAL requirement and the
available skill set of the people, and it is required to have a counselling program to provide
guidance to the local youths and direct them to various skill programs and provide them
with placement assistance. There are serious allegations by the community of malpractices
in the recruitment process. A mega project needs people in different roles and a transparent
selection system should be devised and executed so that the local aspirants don’t feel
alienated and spread unfounded rumours hampering the company prospects and sullying
the image. All these here say reach the global media and accentuate problems for the
project.
With all the publicity around them, the indigenous people at Lanjigarh lead the same life of
marginalisation and are now even more convinced that the Project would ‘rob’ them off all
their belongings including the land, which is there mainstay. There are small groups of
people in villages like Ijirupa who expect direct benefit from the company in terms of
54
employment and they feel betrayed due to lack of opportunities provided to them by the
company.
For the indigenous people their land, livelihood, society and culture are intricately linked to
and inseparable from nature. But the ‘industrialised’ state, however, has been constantly at
odds with the way of life of these communities, which looks for livelihoods and life centered
around their soil. To add to their vulnerability, para military forces like the CRPF (Central
Reserve Police Force) has continually intimidated the community, restricting their
movement and life. Earlier, the community practised shifting cultivation along the hills,
some distance away from the village. But, insecurity and harassment at the hands of
security forces has forced them to abandon their traditional patterns of agriculture, making
them cultivate the hills near the village, which is causing large scale deforestation in these
areas.
The increasing need for money leads Dongria men &women to carry wood for sale every
morning to Muniguda, thereby adding to the problem of deforestation. Elders in the
community lament the drying up of streams in the area. The easy access to certain rationed
goods like rice through the Public Distribution System has changed the food habits of the
people. When asked if they need the rice, most said they take rice only because it was being
distributed by the government.
The local communities love their independence and value their privacy so much that having
roads to the villages is frowned upon as intrusions into their privacy &culture. Lado Sikaka,
the Dongria Kondh anti-Vedanta spokesperson says, “We don’t want roads. We don’t have
any vehicles. If a road is made, who would it be made for? People from outside will come and
destroy this place if roads are made. We never lock our doors, our women and girls move
about safely. People coming from outside will put an end to that way of life. Criminality and
theft will take roots and all this will lead to insecurity. People here might get influenced and
copy their (outsiders’) exploitative system.”
In 1964, the Dongria Kondh Development Agency (DKDA) was set up to launch such
developmental programmes in Niyamgiri. This is still operational, covered under the Tribal
Sub-Plan funds. The DKDA website showcases it’s work to establish pre-primary and primary
schools, road networks and tube wells, while “enhancing” the agricultural output by
encouraging tribals to grow more horticultural crops. Though lot of initiatives has taken by
this body for development, today the villagers are silent about those. They suspect that the
agency now is being funded by VAL. The school buildings are being used as extra storage
space. The elders said that the education system alienates them since lessons are taught not
in the native Kui dialect but in Odia that is not prevalent in the region. The curriculum, too,
features nothing of the local history or culture, and is taught only by outsiders rather than
village elders. The locals have no role to play in their own development, which they find
strange and suspicious.
Poor financial condition and cash crunch dogs the community and while interacting it was
found that they are still borrowing money at the rate of 10% per month from the
unorganised lending market or from the local money lenders.
55
Summary of the Community Disconnect

About a couple of month back one of the leaders of the movement Lado Sikaka lost his
daughter who died due to malnutrition and lack of proper medical care. He has been made
an international celebrity of sorts, taken to global forums, showcased by the NGOs/activists
as a sufferer. But today he stands isolated, helpless, without being able to fend for himself.
The local politicians, party agnostic, have time and again raised the Vedanta issue to get
political mileage and at the end have dumped the community. This is a glaring example of
how the tribals have been left almost “war-ravaged” and are now grappling with extreme
poverty and abject marginalisation. One of the respondents said “we are like the ants who
get killed when the elephants fight”. The local villagers are struggling for their daily
subsistence while the State is looking at a multi-billion dollar aluminium business housed in
the same location, which is ironical.
Failure to build effective relationships

o Plant was built without also building effective community relationships
o Local players/stakeholders feel slighted & ignored. We have interacted with the
villagers from the core villages, activists in the area, and members of the Niyamgiri
Surakhya Samiti.
o The VAL internal culture at the time did not appear to be tuned to or aligned to
building a stakeholder-centric orientation. Rather an approach towards the
community which is far from being close or dependable over time. VAL so far has
essentially been a ‘visitor’ to the project area in which they have made heavy
investments both in physical capital and brand equity. There have been instances
where local population claim that their business interest has been hampered as they
were working on some small assignments with VAL but as they were presumed to be
with the NSS (Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti), they have been chalked out causing loss of
earning. The same situation could have been turned in favour but these steps if true
have worsened the situation.
o Only a few company officials are remembered by the community for their
community friendliness and outreach. Mr Dave, a former COO is fondly remembered
by the locals.
o The VAL people have rarely visited the communities. Many of them have no idea
about the villages, the communities or their locations. No individual or a group is
reported to have visited all the villages within a 10Km radius of the mining site or
even the 12 core villages in a contiguous manner.
Introducing NGOs and activists without providing a balanced view

o Opening the doors for international NGOs, national activists & others to work with
the local people has led to many local people now feeling (though a convoluted
logic) that some company personnel & the activists were working together towards a
sabotage. Such rumours are floating around.
56
o The international NGOs and activists were deliberately caustic and strategically
spread canards. The local populace is credulous and easily believe emotional issues
like the Niyam Raja story. This story was crafted intentionally to divert the attention
and shroud the mining issue with the sensitivities of the local tribes who are nature
worshippers and till recently had no religion historically. The activists were almost
‘allowed’ to be successful in their attempts because there was no community link
with VAL. NSS (Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti), the local community heroes were born
out of and thrived on ‘apathetic’ tendencies of VAL. Both at Bhawanipatna &
Rayagada (far removed from the community) VAL organised meetings with local
media & authorities rather than the communities where the real action happened.
o There is a growing feeling that the villagers have been left in the lurch by both the
international activists, lobbyists and also VAL. They are left in a “limbo”.
Failure to conduct a Community Needs Assessment

o ‘Tokenism’ in development of the area stares in the face. There has not been a
Needs Assessment of the community and the ad hoc, disparate & disconcerted
approach to the community development has been felt by the community as
“demeaning”. We have visited the site of child care centre of Khemdipadar and
Phuldumer which are now deserted. Photos added for reference.
[The Child Care Centre at Phuldumer (present condition)]
o The development work done by VAL in the area has been ineffective. More than the
absolute expenditure figures incurred on development, the development work has
never been need based.
o The following are the priority needs of the community/villages and are given below
in order of importance:
 Livelihood
 Health care
 Education
57
Failure to conduct engage Community Leaders

o VAL has not made any attempts to meet the leaders of anti-Vedanta movement over
fears of left wing extremism. Our team met the frontrunners like Sadananda Naik,
Kumti Majhi, Dhanu Gaud, Mahadev Naik, Rama Majhi, Gato Majhi, Patra Majhi,
Sana Majhi, Drinjo Sikaka and Lado Sikaka at their villages and we never encountered
any hindrances nor did we get any such feedback from the communities. Most of the
respondents and others at the community felt that the LWE ghost was a ruse for not
reaching out to the primary stakeholders. In fact except Lakhpadar, in all other
villages we visited we have been treated like preferred guest. It was only in
Lakhpadar, the poster boy Lado Sikaka interacted with us but with no warmth but
while returning the other villagers were very friendly and courteous.
Vedanta and VAL internal Community Engagement processes
o The voting pattern in the Gram Sabha reflects the community disconnect. The
influence of NGOs and activists can’t be glossed over. But their attempts at
misdirecting the local tribals and voters has been stoked by the complete lack of
“community vibes” of VAL, as shown by the voting trend.
To date there has not been a clear program from VAL to apply the principals of Free, Prior
and Informed Consent (FPIC), despite this being part of IFC (International Finance
Corporation) requirements since 2012 and noting Vedanta’s commitment to application of
IFC Principles. In 2010 EIRIS, a research body of the responsible investing sector, produced a
report on the most important environmental, health and safety and human rights issues at
the project and had made various recommendations for VAL which could have improved its
social and environmental performance. This report was commissioned by a group of
investors (Aviva), who have been working with Vedanta to adopt higher standards in its
practices. Subsequent reviews by EIRIS noted that while Vedanta has been making slow
changes, it had a long way to go to meet the full recommendations. As a follow up EIRIS in
2011, looked for greater clarity in the work of Vedanta’s Sustainability Committee which
should ensure that the Project “covers responsibility for indigenous rights as well as
stakeholder engagement, including local community engagement related to Company
operations. Vedanta should also respond regarding those recommendations that it has not
fully addressed yet.” A Review Report by the research firm URS Scott Wilson noted that
“there are improvements in day-to-day management of sustainability issues. But the key
area of impact on local communities is still weak”.
VAL’s response to the local uprising has been in the shape of a massive publicity campaign
about its investments in local infrastructure and the upgradation of ANCs (Anganwadi
Centres) and other local public utilities. But this has not been able to undo the damage
incurred by starting the project on a completely wrong foot – the glaring failure to
understand the needs of the communities and seek their consent for the project and the
failure to seek Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the local people in the years that have
followed.
58
Vedanta global good practices:

VAL is a group company of Vedanta, one of the world's largest diversified natural resources
companies. VAL has damaged the company’s reputation by failing to assess, sensitise and
partner with its primary stakeholders, the tribals who are the guardians of the mines. This is
perplexing because being a global conglomerate it did not put into practice it’s good and
replicable sustainable development models which the company had implemented
elsewhere. There is no bio diversity plan for Lanjigarh/Niyamgiri area which has been
developed in consultation with the inhabitants of the area. Vedanta’s Technical Standard for
Biodiversity Management (version of 30 September 2011) states that “net positive gains
shall be designed for any “critical habitat” impacts that cannot be avoided, and that
mechanisms will be used to achieve No net Loss and improve biodiversity outcomes
wherever possible”.
Vedanta’s Zinc International business in South Africa has started its Gamsberg project,
which is an appropriate example where Vedanta has developed a clearly defined
biodiversity action plan outlining how the project will avoid, minimise and replenish the
impact of mining activity on the environment. This has involved regular public consultations
with various stakeholders. In order to deliver best possible biodiversity management,
Vedanta has also partnered with reputed NGOs in compliance with offset agreements;
invested in health, education, livelihoods, and environmental projects; and other
sustainable development activities in its South African host communities. Besides there
were many community programs in the Northern Cape like i) the treatment of more than
1,000 cataract cases ii) social enterprise in the form of a brick-making plant run by the local
community iii) and many school support programs and sustainable livelihood initiatives.
Similar comprehensive programs affecting different community needs have not been
planned or executed in Lanjigarh.
Zinc International’s Lisheen mine in Ireland is another example where the company had
adopted a progressive rehabilitation programme linked to the pre-mining projects and
taking care of the post-closure of the mines as well. In an unprecedented move, the mining
site has now been converted to an international standard waste management facility which
has given a tremendous employment boost to the area and within months the entire 140
acre were developed and all the affected people have been successfully rehabilitated. The
site has been designated a European ‘Green Energy’ hub which means that it would be the
first in line for consideration when any new investor comes to Ireland aiming to create new
energy sources. The area is now covered in grass, and the local Parish Forum, Tipperary Co.
Council and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) including the local communities are
happy that the site work (mining) has been finished and closed to world class standards.
At Lanjigarh most indigenous people have developed specialized livelihood strategies and
occupations, which can be adapted to the conditions of their traditional territories and are
thus highly dependent on access to lands, territories and resources. Such traditional
occupations include handicrafts, rural and community-based industries and activities such
as shifting cultivation or gathering. In many villages the indigenous people can be simply
59
identified, even today by their traditional occupations, as, for example, shifting cultivators
or marginal farmers. Lack of respect for tribal peoples’ rights and cultures have led to
discrimination at Lanjigarh area against their traditional livelihoods. Convention No. 169 of
the ILO stipulates that such traditional occupations should be recognised and strengthened.
It seems VAL underestimated the tribals of Lanjigarh and never utilised its global know how
and experience in building sustainable communities in the area. On the contrary, the
indignation of the community against VAL is of such intensity that it has not only pushed the
project behind its completion and capacity operations, but also made an indelible dent on
the ‘enabling environment’ image of Odisha, an emerging state of India. VAL failed to learn
and adapt global best practices in Lanjigarh.
ICMM (The International Council on Mining and Metals) has clearly laid out its following
core principles:
 Care for the safety, health and well-being of workers, contractors and host
communities.
 Respect for people, the environment and the values of host societies.
 Integrity as the basis for engagement with employees, communities, governments
and others.
 Accountability for upholding our commitments.
 Collaboration as an important tool for addressing the challenges we jointly face and
seizing opportunities.
Vedanta has world-class examples where these principals have been implemented. It is
imperative to follow these guidelines to improve sustainable development performance at
Lanjigarh and the complete area. And while the preparations are on for the next Gram
Sabha VAL should build a constructive and transparent platform for interaction with the
community & should desist from locating only the peer influencers in the communities and
working with them. This can never be accepted as a long term approach. While it may look
like low hanging fruit and seemingly look easier in the short run it may only provide some
quick fire, cosmetic benefits but it is definitely going to have a seriously negative rebound
like the first Gram Sabha results and heap ignominy on the brand Vedanta.
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Chapter II
Chapter III
Community needs assessment
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Chapter III
Community needs assessment
The community need in the area is of various types. It is dynamic and changing with their
increasing exposure to the outer world. But the first and foremost requirement of the area
is basic needs like Livelihood, Education, Health Service and communication. The entire
population depends on farming as their major source of income. The livestock they have
normally used for self-consumption.
Before going into the need we need to understand the mood of the target population. The
affected villages fall in 2 different districts Kalahandi and Rayagada and both the clusters of
population has a different mind-set altogether. The numerous articles written on the
population has only diverted the issue and none of them had ever focussed on the
aspiration or need of the villagers as a whole. Certain gross misconceptions created till date
can be as follows:
 The tribals are content with their life and they are self-sufficient.
 They are opposed to educating children.
 They have their own traditional medication hence no dependence on
the medical facility.
 They have no material aspirations.
We will not hesitate here to cite to brand them as an AVATAR tribe has been the biggest
joke of the millennium under which their poverty, illiteracy and poor living conditions have
been covered up. No sane person who has genuinely visited their habitats talked to them at
length and closely observed their life style would write conclusions like this. They are
concerned about their land and farming and it is no wonder as that is at present their only
source of sustenance. Though not technically qualified but they understand the ecology of
the area and want to preserve it any cost as their survival is completely dependent on the
nature. They produce more than 140 products in the hills and sell those in the nearest
market place to procure salt, onion, potato and oil. Those who make some surplus through
extra efforts are managing to send their children to schools for education. We have even
come across few villages like Tadijhola ready to offer a land for having a school in the village.
Their exposure to the mainstream world had taught them to dream and they are
desperately trying to make ends meet and improve their living standards. Their products are
mostly sold at distress prices as communication and preservation is a big issue for them.
We have identified the needs of the community as under:

1. Connectivity
2. Sustainable Livelihood
3. Medical Facilities
4. Education
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5. Water and Power supply

6. Utilisation of Access instruments
7. Living Standards
8. Culture & Heritage
Connectivity:
One of the major issues of the entire area is connectivity. After sunset it is virtually
impossible to access the villages. We were lucky to visit the area post rainy season but
looking at the condition of the approach roads it is evident that a good rain will cut off
the villages from the main land. Building road infrastructure is a costly proposition but if
the government machinery and the company sincerely try it is not impossible either.
Providing connectivity should be followed by vigorous mobilisation to familiarise the
local population with the usage of the connectivity. They should experience and realise
that a good connectivity will lay foundation for better prospects and inroads to the
community which will benefit the society in the long run. The connectivity to the entire
area may not be developed in the short run but a phase wise action plan can gradually
start connecting the affected villages and can provide earning opportunities to the local
population.
Sustainable Livelihood:
This is the biggest concern of all the villagers in the area as their earning is entirely
dependent on farming and almost 4 months a year they live without any produce hence
the standard of living deteriorates. Lack of education and exposure has deprived them
from any preparation for a contingency planning. That is when they get exploited by
local money lenders with interest as high as 10% per annum. Working with the
community in terms of innovative cultivation and multi crop strategy would improve the
situation beyond imagination. Connectivity to market places is a challenge for them so if
a “collective bargaining” mechanism can be implemented in the form of a Producer
organisation which would help them get better price for their produce. Certain product
centric processing plants can also help them to preserve or process the produce and sell
it in bigger markets and get better price. We observed that most of the farming in the
area is organic farming (though they employ organic methods of farming to the tune of
95%, traditionally, they do not have the technical knowhow and seeds to market them
as certified organic product ) which has ever increasing demand across India and
outside. Consistent supply and quality based production is required for aggregation and
regular market participation.
Many families are now educating their children with an aspiration to get a job. Like in
Ijirupa almost all the matriculate immediately enrols for an ITI course with an aspiration
to join the project. We don’t disagree that there may be some skill gap but this is a story
across the state or even across the country. So the company may think of a finishing
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school kind of a set up where these eligible students can be trained on the gap and then
absorbed by the project as and when required. Here we would like to stress on the
selection process at the organisation, where there have been allegation by the local
population that the selections are biased towards non-localites primarily because of
corruption which is alleged on video. It may be true or false but this is a clear indicator
that more transparency needs to be brought in as far as the selection process is
concerned. Likewise the work distribution pertaining to outsourced work is an area of
big concern where it has been observed few families of a few groups are controlling the
entire outsourced work of the plant thereby ignoring a bigger chunk of population. Being
a corporate the company has no obligation to benefit or allot work to only certain group
of people rather an equitable distribution of various works and a transparent
mechanism to handle this can bring in healthy competition and cost reduction. When
the beneficiary base in the society increases automatically the number of well-wishers
will go up and the project will benefit from the same. We can confidently cite that there
are serious issues at the implementation level in this particular case where it has been
clearly identified that to work for the project you need to be close to certain group or
individual or else no inroad. This reputation not only spoils the brand but also opens a
great hole for revenue leakage. A serious effort to have a sustainable livelihood for the
community will also help the project to be more profitable and sustainable in the years
to come.
Medical Facilities:
The medical facility available to the villagers as on date can be considered as NIL leading
to low life expectancy. It was observed that for a basic medical consultation they have to
walk for miles. On the top of that the closest medical facility is of the company which is
not used by them, they cover a mile more to avail the service from the Lanjigarh
Government hospital. There is a nursing centre at Trilochanpur which operates once a
week and not equipped to handle any emergency. The area is prone to malaria and
various water borne diseases but the population is deprived of medical attention. It may
not be possible to build hospitals around the area but the medical services can be made
available through paramedics and at least once a day visit of para-medics to the villages
can solve a lot of morbidity & health episodes. We have come across population with
serious ailments but are helpless and lack resources and medical attention. The doctors
at the Bissam Cuttack mission hospital which is one of the most reputed in the state and
close to Lanjigarh say that in most of the cases (above 90%)the tribal patients reach late
to the facility and hence pregnancy related complications and infant mortality rates are
high in the area. This delay in reaching the health care providers is on two accounts:
 Lack of ambulatory services
 Lack of Knowledge in timely medical care
Health services is a pressing need of the people in the entire area, in over 30 -40 kms
radius.
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Education:
Basic education is a luxury for this population. The nearest primary school at
Trilochanpur is a long walk for the villagers. Some of them who have relatives in
places like Muniguda, Rayagada, Lanjigarh and Bissam Cuttack where they leave
their children to study at schools in the nearby locations. The number of families
sending their children to Trilochanpur is increasing through generations but still the
literacy rate is below 7%. The lack of education is one of the biggest development
challenges in the villages. We have captured the primary data during our visit to the
area which is depicted in the table below:
Sl. Village No of Population Children Literac Literacy Break

No. Name Hous /Minors y Rate up
e Tot Male Fema Male Female
holds al le
1 Ijirupa 10 37 17 20 7 18.92 5 2
2 Lamba 23 103 51 52 24 0.00 0 0
3 Phuldumer 20 94 36 58 17 24.73 10 13
4 Palberi 11 42 22 20 17 0.00 0 0
5 Kunakadu 8 43 25 18 22 0.00 0 0
6 Tadijhola 8 33 16 17 10 3.03 1 0
7 Lakhpadar 27 216 92 125 61 0.74 1 1
8 Batudi 15 76 36 40 12 13.16 8 2
9 Jarpa 7 32 16 16 8 0.00 0 0
10 Kesarpadi 16 79 32 47 20 11.39 5 4
11 Serkapadi 18 92 37 55 22 7.61 5 2
12 Khambesi 22 105 44 61 21 2.86 3 0
Total 185 953 424 529 241 6.15 38 24
It is also evident that the literacy rate of particular village has a direct link with the
location of the village. Conveniently located villages have a much better rate than
those of the remotely located villages. Kunakadu, Lamba, Palberi, Lakhpadar and
Khambesi are examples of this. As per the census 2011 the tribal literacy rate in the
state is: 52.24%, Male: 63.70%, Female: 41.20% whereas in Lanjigarh area it is 6.15%,
Male: 8.52% and Female: 4.29%. The situation needs to be addressed on a war
footing basis and special literacy drives need to be conducted.
Water and Power Supply:
Power supply is not available in any of the villages we have travelled. While a few of
them have some solar panels but the coverage is not 100%. In remote villages like
Lakhpadar there are only two solar panels supporting 2 lights for the entire 272
population in 28 households. For drinking water they are primarily dependent on the
water streams which often go dry during the summer and there is an overhead tank
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in almost all the villages but gap still exists. Drinking water related diseases are on
the rise and though the stream water is clean, with increasing pollution, the risks are
also on the rise.
Utilisation of Access instruments:
This is a common issue faced in most of the villages, more in the villages falling in the
Kalahandi revenue district. The situation is somewhat better in Rayagada district.
Indira Awas Yojana & provision of subsidised food grains are two schemes which
makes the villagers run from pillar to post. The PDS is weak in logistics and
distribution. The tribals have been traditionally forest dependent and were self-
sufficient. But with their resources dwindling and the existence under threat, they
have to depend on PDS for subsistence. And this is where they face bureaucracy at
every step. Though the days of middlemen are almost over, yet the smooth
distribution of PDS is still a far cry in this area.
Living Standards:
The tribals have been under the attack of communication from the social activists
and the peer influencers. They never had any aspirations, but with the advent of a
mega project like VAL and the active publicity by the activists and local brokers, they
were given the idea that the company would take care of everything for them. From
roads, to education to their ration supply to employment. This led to a cognitive
dissonance, extremely damaging for the development of the entire area. There have
been active local groups under the leadership of their political masters who want to
keep the situation disturbed as long as possible, because it suits them. And apathy of
the VAL personnel to the situation and their indifference to take responsibilities of
reaching out to the masses directly with straight forward, clear messages is
compounding the problem of miscommunication. is making the situation worse. If
the current condition prevails no amount of funds support can help turn the tide
favourably for VAL. The state machinery, the company and the activists all need to
come together for the upliftment of the communities and raising their living
standards. The neglect of years cannot be solved overnight but the faith of the
community could be restored to a large extent. The company needs to understand
that it is dealing with a population where sentiments play a much bigger role than
the material desires and hence any strategy to materially benefit a few with the
expectation of influencing the community at large would backfire. This has been the
feedback we have received clearly during our survey.
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Culture & Heritage
This is a particularly vulnerable tribe whose identity and culture need to be

preserved. They use a unique language which is yet to be documented or recorded.
Helping them archive their life, it’s elements, the culture and heritage would help
instil confidence in them and would yield positive results and overtures.
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Chapter II
Chapter IV
The future Blueprint –
towards Niyamgiri BMP
68
Chapter IV
The future Blueprint – towards Niyamgiri BMP
It might sound contrarian but it is also necessary to understand that the Gram Sabha verdict
was not essentially anti VAL or anti Mining, rather it was the outburst of the negativity
developed among the tribals towards the system for their continuous exclusion from
development processes over the years. A person who has to travel by foot through the hills
for 9 kilometres for treatment to the nearest hospital and 7 kms for a packet of salt cannot
be expected to understand the developments, economic impact the mining can bring in and
vote accordingly. But here is an opportunity to contribute to ‘nation building’ by adapting
the entire area and developing much beyond prescribed CSR and other norms like
peripheral development and establish international gold standards.
On the other side though the plant is existing in the area since last 13 years they are yet to
seen any big ticket development in the area and the most crucial part is the access to even
basic amenities has not even improved. The time has come for VAL to review their approach
and look at innovative ways of doing business and incorporating community engagement
into the core business activities of the company. Without community ownership, it would be
almost impossible to access Niyamgiri mines and the dividends thereof, even with future
Gram Sabha(s). The future course of action should recognise
a) The rights of indigenous and tribal communities to ownership
b) Control and management of land and resources traditionally held by them either
individually or as a community; and significantly
c) The right to a prominent role in decision making for development needs in the entire
area, besides the 12 core villages.
In the best interest of the state’s socio-economic development, the mega project needs to
operate at full capacity and raw materials for the mines need to be made available. To
facilitate all round development – for the community, for business and for the state – the
government would move an application challenging the Vedanta bauxite mine judgement of
the Supreme Court. The voting at the gram sabhas henceforth would be of a different
character & composition. Some members of gram sabhas in 2013 have deceased and the
average age group of members would fall. This doesn’t mean that the younger population
will necessarily give a decision in the mine’s favour. On the contrary, younger members are
more exposed to information and communication and hence would have much more
objective view of the Social Return on Investment (SROI).Presently there is no systematic
way of incorporating social, environmental, economic and other values into decision-making
processes. By helping reveal the economic value of social and environmental outcomes SROI
should create and measure a holistic perspective on whether a development project or
social business or enterprise is beneficial and sustainable. This perspective would open up
new opportunities and could form the basis for innovative initiatives that genuinely
contribute to positive social change and poverty reduction for all in the entire mines area,
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and not only restricted to 12 core villages or the newly selected core villages. The
community communication could centre around SROI which would help in balancing and in
addressing the paradox between accountability and learning by placing the perspectives of
the different stakeholders at the center of the valuation process. The major bone of
contention is the ownership of or the ‘belongingness’ of the mines or the hills. And the
community has the right to be informed, educated and communicated about the social
return on the investment in the proposed mining activity. None of the stakeholders have
approached the community with this perspective so far. They have been either incensing or
keeping the community completely desensitised, making them oscillate from one extreme
to the other. The community needs to be prudently informed about the project, it’s impact
both economic and non-economic.
Without a positive Gram Sabha, VAL would not be able to go ahead with the mining project,
which would be a huge setback to the development momentum for Odisha as a state. This
would make a severe dent in the “ease of doing business” factor which is much emphasised
for luring investments to the states. There is an imminent need to develop and implement a
strategic, shared purpose with respect to sustainability of the environment, the economic
benefit, the community and the employees.
Mere focus on dealing with governments would not help VAL seek the social approval. The
Community and VAL should develop a strong bilateral relationship, not as adversaries but as
partners. This is not about a few CSR programs but means addressing unique concerns of
each village or clusters of villages like jobs for local youth, investments in local
infrastructure, access to good health and education. The indigenous communities are not
opposed to development but are often antagonised by their loss of status as the most key
stakeholder of the entire mining project and the traditional trustees of the mines area.
The ground situation is gradually maturing because the villagers are getting to realise the
futility of opposition (without any of them properly sensitised). The discernible, blatant
selfishness of the activists, the cheerleaders & political strongmen lie completely exposed.
The localites feel unmoored.
Fortunately for VAL the externalities (international NGOs, activists etc.) have betrayed the
tribals and the villagers (not all are tribals). The mood at the ground is changing not because
of any special efforts of VAL but because the inhabitants have realised that they have been
subject to intrigues and scuttlebutts so far. The local government has not taken extra care to
bring about an efficient tripartite understanding – the company, the civil society and the
government.
Towards inclusive and responsible mining

It is necessary that VAL supports multi-stakeholder dialogue, promotes local voices and
explores innovations that help deliver more inclusive and accountable mining output. This
would result in empowered local communities, enlightened decision makers both at the
local and external levels and develop sensitivity to the rights and responsibilities of all
stakeholders, primary being the communities in the core and non-core villages. (A
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population of about 8200 in 104 villages in the radius of 10 kms considered as the project
affected geography).
Critical paradigm shift
One of the key paradigm shifts we suggest for VAL, is moving from a CSR mode to a
Sustainability mode. More importantly to adopt Sustainability as “VAL culture”, an
overarching vehicle of community development and partnership. VAL needs to build a
clearly identifiable, own development ecosystem, with clear emphasis on community,
ecosystems, and sustainable economic stimulation. This should present a broad and
adaptable discipline to facilitate planning and management toward sustainable mining.
Open to common-sense recognition of faults and opportunities at appropriate scales, the
VAL development ecosystem should be a discipline and a prescribed methodology than an
whimsical mind-set, which often manifests in non-need based, CSR. In aggregate, these
steps are indispensable for avoidance of environmental, social and economic risks that
threaten to curtail resource development and impair VAL’s ‘social license to operate.’
Sustainability should be the character of development in the area and VAL needs to adopt
both the Strategic as well as the Tactical interventions and make them anthropocentric (i.e.,
human-centred). All the plans given below are neither a status bestowed nor a claim made
legitimately, nor are they endpoints reached by the application of prescriptions,
proscriptions, or both. They need to be implemented in tandem to address the weak
communication of the past and to lay the network for future community shares.
VAL should consolidate its project plans & develop a long term community vision and
recognise that the natural resources management calls for nurturing of the age old
gatekeepers/nature worshippers. Instead of displacement, the mantra should be co-
placement. They are and have to be validated as equal partners. We have outlined four
elements below to commence this process.
Element A: Go to the Community

"Sustainable development can only be pursued if population are in harmony with the
changing productive potential of the ecosystem." (World Commission on the Environment
and Development). But in Lanjigarh, the local population has never been informed about the
developments or the future prospects of the industry in a way where the community “feels”
a part of the entire development. The considerable effort that will be required to approach
a sustainable condition is justified by the chance to maintain stable environmental,
ecological, social and economic conditions, relatively free of risk that systems will fail or
collapse. But there needs to be a bilateral communication with the community on a regular
basis and not dependent on only events or assemblies. We strongly recommend reaching
the community by systematic, content-rich communication through Community
Development Centres (CDC).
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The CDC model is based on the sustainability principal of “development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.”
The “Community Development Center” would be a brick & mortar space operating as the
community meeting point, where different information for the entire community would be
utilised, shared, exchanged and also be used as the “Knowledge Platform” in narrowing
down all kinds of gaps in understanding about the project(s), the community benefit, the
sustainability plans, as well as strengthening the capacity of all the groups of the villages.
Some target group specific benefits foreseen are as follows;
 The Youth Groups: both for the general ones and the risked young for any kind of
their appropriated development i.e. learning about VAL Project, the environment,
the facts about mining, its impact, global good practices, exposed to more
perspectives, employment;
 The House wife and the Women Groups: for their own and their family development
through VAL, access more information, more knowledge, more opportunities with
more income, and enhanced self-esteem, etc.;
 The Vocational and the Homeworkers Groups (the non-formal economy): for their
communication, products production and marketing, etc.
 The Farmers: for their farm production development, new technologies and markets
as well as doing farm as a producer organisation, etc.;
 The Aged Group: for their social network, information seeking for any of their
development, etc.
The CDCs would be set up with the agreement of communities, likely at Ijirupa, Phuldumer,
Lakhpadar & at Khambesi.
The CDCs would be developed to evolve as Community Empowerment Centres (CECs) which
would subsequently provide the marginalised communities in and around the complete
project affected area access to resources and programming that would educate, empower
and strengthen individuals though the innovative use of technology. Many people take
computer technology for granted because it’s such a major part of our society now, but
imagine not having the education or access to computers. Low-income children of Lanjigarh
(both at the core and the non-core villages) are at risk of being left behind and overlooked
for jobs because they have not received the education and skills/training like other ethnic
groups. But with the CDC getting digital, they would develop a strong sense of responsibility,
and the interventions can come into the community and provide the necessary training and
education that kids may not be getting otherwise, ultimately to use technology at the CDCs
to fight poverty and stimulate entrepreneurship. This would result in a network of self-
managed and self-sustaining Community Centres throughout more than 30 villages –
monitored and coordinated by the Project personnel. The centres would help the
disadvantaged groups use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The
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community centres would be technology and learning centres in the impoverished

communities. The center would be equipped with the infrastructure, and free computers
and software, implement educational methods, train instructors and monitor the schools.
Element B: Community Outreach Network (CON)

With misinformation and trust deficit as the backdrop of the Lanjigarh imbroglio, it is
necessary to develop a social policy for the community and secondary stakeholders. The
density of population in the surrounding, affected villages is less (with average population
per village being less than 50) and there should be an information, education &
communication campaign at each household level. A global conglomerate and a world class
project like VAL need to take up the task of “information, education & communication” of
the entire demography to usher in widespread sensitisation about industrialisation and the
ensuing development. That’s the enormity and gravity of the responsibility VAL ought to
shoulder. The villagers should be aware that mining can become more environmentally
sustainable by developing and integrating practices that reduce the environmental impact
of mining operations. These practices include measures such as reducing water and energy
consumption, minimizing land disturbance and waste production, preventing soil, water,
and air pollution at mine sites, and conducting successful mine closure and reclamation
activities. And in each of these activities there is a strong possibility of the locals to get
involved. The Community Outreach Network would be used by VAL & the community to
enhance the bilateral relationship and would provide scope for counselling, regular
interaction with the community and act as a buffer between the community and VAL. The
grievances, the successes, the issues would all be shared and discussed under CON. The
network would operate in designated places called the Village Information Points (VIP).
These points may or may not operate from the CDCs. The village resource maps (Annexure:
1) should guide the establishment of VIPs. These VIPs would be planned and designed to act
as “one-stop hubs” for all kinds of information flow between the community and the
management of the VIPs. The aim is to create a mechanism to layout an information
network tapping the pulse of the community. The VIPs would be modelled as an
information-cum-counselling and drop-in-centres. It would be a single window for
discussions about myriad issues: the development of the village, the local village
management issues, the youth education and careers, health & hygiene concerns,
administrative and governance services and all comprehensive local affairs. Keeping in view
the upcoming Gram Sabha and the long term community partnership envisaged, the VIP
would be a unique approach, acting as a buffer between the company and the community
and addressing issues much before they reach the plant or the community, gratuitously and
would check and stop canards and misinformation spread against the project by vested
interests. Over the past decade we have witnessed the necessity and emergence of
community relations and development functions across industries, but more pronounced
among mining industries, essentially under the rubric of sustainable development and
corporate social responsibility. This would provide VAL with mechanisms through which to
engage and manage their relationships with key stakeholder groups, share development
benefits and protect business interests.
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Our interactions with the communities and their response to assess their changing risk
perceptions in the last 2-3 years, since the last Gram Sabha, showed that most community
members still carry a strong impression that VAL project is aimed at ‘looting’ the minerals
and closing down their operations in about 4-5 years. Hence there is no change in the “loot
& scoot” factor. In the personal risk factor, the villager still thinks that the Project would
push him/her to danger or personal insecurity, but this discernment has come down
marginally. Hence, after all these years, there is still a lot to be done to change the
‘uncertainty’ of the primary stakeholders at Lanjigarh.
The major change in perception has been happened in lower villages but among the mid
and hill top dwellers the situation has not changed much. Though a couple of villages are
interested in their own development and compensation, the perception of the ST
communities has not changed since 2013.
Under CON and through the CDCs, which would be outposts at the communities, they would
be the access points for delivery of various electronic-enabled services to the villages,
thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society. These centres would be
more than service delivery points in Lanjigarh. They would be positioned as change agents,
promoting tribal entrepreneurship and building last mile capacities and livelihoods. They
would be the enablers of community participation and collective action for engendering
social change through a bottom-up approach with key focus on the local development.
There is a need to revive or restore the initiative to build a business environment which is
inclusive and recognises the primary stakeholders as critical for a sustainable co-existence. It
is a common observation that it is more difficult to rebuild trust than to create it. The
changing profile of the tribal and non-tribal community members, increasing access to
public utilities and services, fast changing socio-economic prospects, internet and rise of
social media would increase the expectations of stakeholders much more for a deeper and
wider range of information. VAL needs to develop two-way communication recognising that
pushing information will not be enough to ensure the effective communication with the
communities. Undeniably VAL needs to move to a two-way, bilateral and on-going dialogue
that systematizes information flows to, from and across VAL. The model below would shape
how VAL would organize, manage and execute effective stakeholder communications.
Presently VAL is facing a challenging business environment with plummeting prices and at
the same time a greater environmental and social expectations in mining rights mean that
maintaining a social license to operate is more directly linked to value perceived by the host
communities at Lanjigarh area in whole. It is no secret that the Project has suffered because
stakeholders were not sufficiently engaged and the trust was lacking. When trust is lost, the
cost is huge – both financial and reputational. Community consultation needs to increasingly
move from a short-term tactical role to a long-term strategic one. The process needs to be a
decentralized, spoke-and-wheel system where different groups feed information to a hub
that acts as a content and news generating team to evolve from ad-hoc and reactive
communications to a more proactive and structured model, able to engage in dialogues with
stakeholders and anticipate issues before they appear and strengthen the early intelligence
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about the field. Internally, inside VAL this would initiate a closer and more strategic
collaboration between community consultation and other business functions such as
operations, human resources, legal, environmental, procurement and CSR. For VAL, building
relationships with a wide group of stakeholders, adversaries as well as supporters, is a
critical buffer when crisis occurs. This has not happened in the past and this is an essential
insurance policy & strategy for VAL. Crisis response-driven or “knee-jerk” communications
have always proven late for VAL.
The strategy would be to deliver a single, consistent message across all interpersonal
communication channels rapidly for three months at a time. The strategy should evolve to
reach targeted groups of men & women in strategic village locations with repeated
exposure to a common message. It is likely that more than 25 trained interpersonal
communicators would be needed to conduct one-to-one and one-to-group sessions, based
on a quarterly theme, to tackle personal/community risk perception and to promote the
practice of project partnering, allaying myths, notions and unfounded fears.
Element C: Internal Reforms: Vedanta Champion (VC)

Establish a community centric organizational culture which is more inwards in the
organization at VAL, Lanjigarh. The employee morale is at its lowest now. With uncertainty
regarding the future supply of raw materials (bauxite) and regular slamming in media about
the non-availability of the Niyamgiri mines, personnel are gradually losing hope in long term
association with the company. VAL should consider involving their employees in vigorous
and well planned engagement in community work.
The approach would involve straddling both the internal VAL staff and the immediate
Communities with following strategies:
• Covering the internal work force
• Classifying the work force to manageable groups spearheaded by chosen team
leads
• Covering the geography and demography (communities) in the project area

• Clustering of communities per the team leads, thus selected
• Linking the Connect at the project level to the Communication at the international
level through various build-ups at the district, state and national levels.
Improved social performance would lead to better Project operations and eventually to
better returns. If communities benefit greatly from VAL, then they have a significant stake in
seeing the mine operate successfully and will help to overcome obstacles that could
adversely affect the mining operation, and in turn to reduce risk for the company. The
internal staff of VAL can contribute to local community well-being and development as
many, who could be shortlisted belong to the local communities.
75
VAL, in spite of its setbacks, is fortunate to have a band of spirited and energetic loyalists
who have stood by through thick and thin. Many of them are locally connected and have
strong networks. They have expressed openly their need for support and endorsement by
the senior management. Even today, irrespective of the local challenges, they are ready to
take cudgels on behalf of VAL. Community-centric culture has to be developed: There are
willing, interested and dynamic personnel present in the workforce at VAL, across functions.
During the Consultation we met many of them who are prepared to take the plunge,
associate themselves with the ground work and join hands to resurrect the Project and
actively meet the challenge of supply of bauxite from the local mines, which is the lifeline of
VAL. The company could consider an employee engagement program using internal
Champions that would result in enhanced ownership and where the Champions could be
inculcated as an integral part of the organization with formal certification and recognition.
This would increase the footfall of VAL in the community, which today is very low.
Element D: Total Area Development (TAD)
The total area consisting of 104 villages, falling under both Kalahandi and Rayagada districts
needs to be developed comprehensively taking a cluster approach.
A Sustainable Development Framework should be considered and customised to the
requirements of Lanjigarh & the communities, comprising principles, reporting initiatives
and good practice guidelines. Sustainable development would mean mining that is
“financially viable, socially responsible, environmentally, technically & scientifically sound
with a long term view of development”. The three main stakeholders of the framework are
the governments (local, state and national), the communities (includes the civil society
organisations, people groups etc.) and VAL. The Framework would provide practical
guidance at both a corporate and at the community levels on delivering sustainable
development. Sustainable development would help in promoting the social, economic and
environmental well-being of the entire Lanjigarh area and in producing community
strategies which would contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in
Lanjigarh area including the mining belt. The social, economic and environmental well-being
of the entire population is directly related to sustainable development. Total area
development is the set of activities which would be undertaken to make life better for the
communities, comprehensively. It would not be looking at development in silos, unlike the
past. TAD would implement programs resulting in the all-round development of the area –
it’s not only about water or roads or electricity treated as a development imperative in
isolation.
The development of the area under the Sustainable Development Framework would result
in the Total Area Development (TAD) program to provide basic amenities, increase in
productivity, promotion of human development, provision of better livelihood
opportunities, access to the rights and entitlements, reduction of disparities and enrichment
of social capital in all the villages coming under the affected area. The villages include
76
Ijirupa, Simlivata, Phuldumer, Palberi, Kunakadu, Khambeshi, Jarpa, Tadijhola, Lakhpadar,

Khutladanagar and Dangargarh to name few.
Further, VAL should consider the comprehensive development of the entire area including
the 12 villages that were the core villages in the last Gram Sabha, not restricted to the 12
villages only. There are other villages where there is urgent requirement of all round
development which has the potential to usher in welfare in the general population around
the mining area. The area presently is underdeveloped and not much thrust has been given
to the development even by the local government. In many ways, the tribals feel alienated
and are in a constant struggle to safeguard their rights against non-tribals and government
authorities. The TAD activities by VAL should assist the landmark legislations meant to
empower India’s tribal communities, such as the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and the Panchayats
(Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in the area. The interlocutory application filed by
the Odisha government challenging the landmark Vedanta bauxite mine judgment of the
Supreme Court might be successful in setting aside the gram sabha resolutions, if they may,
but what would remain a constant vexation is the lack of development of the area and the
people. Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN, at least 50% are
the sustainable development issues in the entire Lanjigarh mining area. These include
hunger, poverty, quality education, inequalities, decent work and economic growth.
Strategically building the TAD program around the Goals would help leverage the
government schemes available for the area. This would lead to greater integration with the
local administration and help the tribals mainstream easier and faster. The local population
is under the threat of left wing extremism mainly because of the wide chasm between
development/government and the community. VAL should play the catalytic role of getting
the governance closer to the community and only then the development discourse would
be accepted by the tribals. In these years, hardly 3-4 persons from VAL have visited the
tribals in their villages. VAL so far has not visited the sites completely nor planned a holistic
tribal development program. The development work of VAL in the area has been rather
patchy and often done under the pressure of local uprisings and NGOs pressing for projects
with a promise to build inroads to the communities. The CSR programs need more strategic
planning and a link with the overall, broader vision of the company to develop the area and
the people. Development of the local people would serve the interests of the company too.
The less the inequalities, the lesser are the troubles fermented every now and then by
vested interests. For example, faced with unprofitable, obsolete farming practices and
unemployment, the villagers, mainly the youth, are often migrating to towns. The TAD
programme would give confidence and new encouragement to them and they would take
agriculture more seriously and in a sustainable manner.
Under TAD a critical area would be the provision of facilities to the tribals to produce more
in agriculture and to supply the produce to large markets at better returns. Soil and land
resources should underpin and support local efforts towards sustainable development. They
would be the key components for the fight against poverty & food insecurity. Soil and land
degradation poses a great challenge for sustainable development. Soil and land degradation
is not only a physical or biochemical issue and is very often related to socio-economic
aspects. Poor and marginalized populations in the area (includes the plains and the hills) are
77
the most affected by soil and land degradation as they are the ones majorly occupying
degraded land. So achieving food security for poor small-scale farming tribals and
eradicating extreme poverty requires dealing with the complexity of land degradation.
Security of quality utilisation of land must also be addressed, as soil and land degradation is
as much a development issue as it is a technical one. One of the key future strategies should
be the collectivization of producers, especially the tribal small and marginal farmers, into
producer organisations. Organised forest and farm producers would then make up a vast
majority of rural livelihoods in Lanjigarh area. These organisations would improve
producers' access to markets (as the area is strategically located – Vizag on one side,
Bhawanipatna on the other, Rayagada, Berhampur markets within reach) and influence
policy discussions in a truly representative manner. In the coming days and years, gram
sabha would not be the only policy window, but there would be many such social
endorsements and partnerships required to continue in long term business in the area. The
tribal farming collectives would carry strategic agendas and would increasingly establish
partnerships to transform rural economies into sustainable pathways for the future. Our
team has visited Ijirupa, Kemdipadar, Phuldumer, Palberi, Kunakadu, Tadijhola, Lakhpadar,
and we have observed that the small and marginal farmers (over 90% of the tribals) as
producers are unable to realize the right value of their produce. The defragmentation of
land, lack of awareness, distrust in scientific practices, less inclination towards technology
adoption leads to under production against the optimal potential. The absence of adequate
marketing infrastructure, presence of middle man, lack of collectivization effort is currently
leading to grabbing less marketing opportunities and earnings.
The aim is to bring about all round development of the villages, measuring the development
against a baseline assessment of the villages & the households. The development would
include social development, cultural development and would specifically spread motivation
among the people on social mobilization of the village community. The desired impact of
comprehensive development and enhancement in the quality of life of the households in
Lanjigarh would be achieved if VAL takes up the responsibility of developing physical and
institutional infrastructure in villages and turn them into model villages. These villages
would then be linked to the various government & public welfare programs which would
help in leverage of greater resources and scale up. The various steps in the TAD program
would be as follows:
 To Conduct the baseline survey. This can be done with the help of Independent
Projects with specific penetration in the villages
 Preparation of a Village Development Plan for all the villages
 Convergence of relevant government schemes
 Ensuring grievance redressal through the CDCs mentioned above and with the active
involvement of the Volunteers, VCs & others
 Monthly progress review of the scheme, without fail.
78
Custom Hiring Center

Under TAD, Custom Hiring Centres could be considered to propagate farm mechanization.
For example, hiring centre hubs could be set up at Balabhadrapur & Dahikhal villages and
operate from Resource Centers to service about 20-25 villages and cater to all
mechanization requirements of these villages. A common call-centre would accept orders
from farmers. In addition, each Hub could house an equipment bank where higher end
equipment could be rented out with tractors serving in the area. This idea would aim to
providing mechanized solutions to land preparation, sowing, crop care, harvesting, and
residue management and would greatly enhance the agriculture practices. This notes that
the area has potential to be a rice bowl and vegetable supplier to parts of Odisha, Andhra
Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Conclusion: Sustainability is the key

There is an on-going bitter competition between those who are opposed to Vedanta’s
bauxite mining project and those who want to win over the gram sabha to facilitate the
mining. But the problem cannot be solved unless both sides are willing to plan and execute
entirely new business models for both saving the environment and generating commerce.
Sustainability is different from CSR work and this needs to be driven into the culture of the
organisation at Lanjigarh. CSR by VAL has so far, included the businesses’ responsibility to
act for the community good through one-off projects and consider their impacts on
the community at large, and this has not encompassed sustainability. Sustainability is
concerned with preserving resources and operating in a way that is conducive to long-term
business. There is a big difference therefore in the vision - CSR looks backwards at
performance while Sustainability would have a more prominent forward-facing focus, with
targets to secure the future for trading. For example, in the past CSR projects on agriculture
promotion has been implemented in the area – organic cotton farming, strawberry
cultivation but they have been non-starters. Improving paddy cultivation under SRI,
sunflower cultivation, commercial vegetable crop cultivation have been implemented on
piecemeal basis but are languishing due to lack of irrigation facilities to promote two crops
in a year. Not enough ground work has gone into designing a sustainable program with both
the backward and forward integrations in place. Even the provision of about 25 solar
powered deep bore wells with the potential of irrigating five acres of land each is not going
to work simply because the landholding doesn’t match the project design. Organic cotton
cultivation can be started but the feasibility needs to be based on hard core commercials
and solid local structure in place. There is no farmers’ collective in place and hence
aggregation continues to be a challenge. Strong linkages need to be established with the
government schemes and district planning. KPMG, appointed by Vedanta carried out an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the Vedanta Sustainability Assurance Programme (VSAP)
process in 2014 and followed this up in 2015. It observed that there was scope of
improvements (read need for improvements) in the integration of the site management
system with the Vedanta sustainability framework and that the implementation of VSAP
79
tool and technical and management standards developed by Vedanta need to be adhered
to. Before the 2013 Gram Sabhas and in July 2011 Scott Wilson Progress Review advised to
set up grievance redressal system and address important community issues like education,
land, livelihood, financial support, employment etc. They had remarked that “our field visits
revealed that local stakeholder awareness of the process was still variable; key people
(representatives) in the villages and other stakeholders targeted by Vedanta knew about the
system, but otherwise awareness was incomplete.”
The development of the area should be an Odisha priority and the farmers and the local
tribals should not face infrastructure bottlenecks. There should be enough scope to break
barriers to develop their livelihoods and gain better access to markets, to education and
more importantly financial inclusion. In the immediate future VAL needs to take up
programs to make the tribals stakeholders in their own development. So far the tribals have
been treated as subjects of development, but never made masters of their own
development – no enterprise has ever reached them. With all round infrastructure
development planned by the government, the current problems would reduce and provide
support to help change the landscape of the tribal lives. VAL should ride the wave of change
and help the tribals maximise the benefits of enhanced bandwidth, doorstep banking and
strengthened law and order situation.
The Odisha government has now urged the Centre to step up infrastructure development in
the Maoist prone districts. The public narrative is currently focussed on developmental
works in left wing extremist areas of the state, including the entire affected areas of
undivided Koraput, Lanjigarh & Bhawanipatna areas. As a result there would be an increase
in the bandwidth of 30 plus existing mobile towers from 512 KBPS to 1 MBPS and setting up
of about 25 new mobile towers in this particular belt. Banking penetration in the extremist
areas is very low and should be scaled up. Since the second half of 2015, 12 bank branches
and 14 ATM counters have been opened in Koraput and Malkangiri districts. About 70
percent of the population in the area is deprived of banking facilities, and hence these
necessary steps would be taken to set up micro ATM, ATM & Banking Correspondents, to
increase the numbers from the current status. The state police are in the active process of
addressing the threat of extremists and Odisha is formulating new strategies to counter
these threats.
With powerful steps taken at the government levels, the coming months and years would
see a complete change in the socioeconomic and environmental milieu and VAL should take
the opportunity and partner with the communities to handhold them out of their present
precarious existence with lack of opportunity and guide them towards growth, leading to
food security and impairments of physical growth and development. Social isolation, poor
communication, low literacy, exploitation and inadequate resources are the main concerns
and these need to be addressed on priority basis.
A multi-pronged intervention approach is needed for sustainable livelihood coupled to
improvement in literacy levels, leading to economic and social empowerment. The existing
infrastructure and welfare schemes should be reinforced without compromise and
supported with targeted surveillance goals. In essence, the local communities need to be
80
masters of their own development. The current youths and teenagers in the community are
the future of the area and participation in the entire development process of their area and
their lives would be enhanced through better Information & Communication Technology-
based education, vocational training for remunerative employment, and rewarding self-
employment opportunities. Today they are rudderless and lost – the young population
which accounts for about 25% in the age group of 15-35 are not engaged in anything
productive. Girls after puberty do not go to schools, and only 25% of the schools have
teachers and infrastructure to function as a school. Half of the children below six are
malnourished. Out of the 112 villages in the area, 40 villages would be directly affected due
to mining and the rest indirectly and this represents a rare scope in terms of the scale of
interventions. Some of the interventions, done earlier by VAL are today almost defunct –
like the Child care centres, the strawberry plantations and the solar panels. New approaches
should not be implemented without the participation of the beneficiaries. Anything without
the ownership of the community would tantamount to largesse and such models of
development would only lead to further down spiralling of the community.
There exists enough scope for development in agriculture in the area. With about 25 acres
of cultivable land in each village there are about 1000 acres of land immediately available
for cultivation. In some of the available lands they are currently growing wide variety of
vegetables but not in an organised manner. There is no aggregation of vegetables and hence
all the produce is sold in the local haats (mostly at places like Lanjigarh, Trilochanpur,
Muniguda) at a price which is not rewarding after carrying head loads of the produce and
trekking minimum 5-6 kms in the hilly terrain and spending an entire day only for a small
quantity of vegetables. There is an urgent requirement to get the farmers organised. The
topography, soil conditions and the water and moisture availability is conducive for
agriculture. There are about 36 perennial streams around the area, almost throughout the
year. The available natural abundance needs to be systematised and harnessed for the Total
Area Development. A Dongar (one unit of farming by a household) is not capable of
enhancing returns to the family if there is no collective of Dongars. A new focused initiative
needs to build the collectives and handhold the tribals to form their own agriculture
company. The development has to be institutionalised and hence over a period of time their
dependence on VAL for employment or sops would reduce till it becomes marginal. There
would be no undue pressures from the local youths for jobs at VAL. Sustainability is the key.
“The simple fact is: in today’s world if we don’t bring people with us and if the
majority of those living in host communities don’t benefit from our presence we
won’t be allowed to mine.”
- Mark Cutifani
81
82
Annexure 1: Village Resource Map
Ijirupa
83
84
Gram CD Block Sub District District

Village Name: Panchayat Name: Name: Name:Kalaha State Name:
Ijirupa Name: Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh ndi Odisha
Govt
Primary
School:0
Private
Private
Senior
Primary
Village Literacy Male Literate:5
School :0
Secondary
School :0
Name:Ijirupa Rate:19%
Female Literate:2 Village Name:
Ijirupa
Job Status:1 Govt Govt Senior

Secondary Secondary
School :0 School :0
Private
Secondary
School :0
Carts
Drivens by
Cycle-pulled Animals :
Rickshaws No
Railway :No
Station :No
Private Bus
Service:No
Public Bus
Service:No
Village
Name:Ijirupa
Connectivity
Nearest Statutory Town

Village Name: Ijirupa :Bhawani Patna
• Distance in KM :66
District Head Quarter :Bhawani

Patna
85
Population: ST Male: 0
37
ST: 0 ST Female: 0
Gravel Road: Yes
SC Male: 0
SC: 0 Black Topped Road
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 17
OBC: 37 OBC Female: 20
All Weather Road :
No
Eligible People Voted: Male Voter: 3 Foot Path: Yes

Voter: 4 Female Voter: 1
1
People Not Male: 0
Voted: -3 Female: 0
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
: 01 Pump: 0
. Water
Supply:No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 4
Literacy: 19%
Population 37
Household 10
Ijirupa 86
Other SHG Not Active

Services
Public Distribution No
Nutritional Centres-ICDS Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name Ijirupa

Land and
Forest Area (in Hectares) 1.3
Irrigation
Area under Non-Agricultural Uses (in Hectares) 68.87
Barren & Un-cultivable Land Area (in Hectares) 0
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Land Area (in Hectares) 0.59
Land Under Miscellaneous Tree Crops etc. Area (in Hectares) 0
Culturable Waste Land Area (in Hectares) 0.24
Fallows Land other than Current Fallows Area (in Hectares) 0
Current Fallows Area (in Hectares) 0
Net Area Sown (in Hectares) 0
87
Phuldumer
88
89
90
Gram
Village Panchayat CD Block Sub District District
Name: Name: Name: Name: Name:Kalah State Name:
Phuldumer Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh andi Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Village Literacy Male Literate:10 0
School
0
Name: Rate:25% Village Name:
Female Literate13
Phuldumer Phuldumer
Govt Govt Senior

Job Status:0 Secondary Secondary
School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service : No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name -
Connectivity Phuldumer

:Bhawani Patna
Village Name: Phuldumer • Distance in KM :71

Patna
91
94
ST: 73 ST Female: 45 Gravel Road: Yes
SC Male: 9
Road
SC Female: 12
: No
OBC Male:
OBC: OBC Female: All Weather Road :
No
Eligible People Voted: Male Voter: 18
Foot Path: Yes
40
People Not Male: 0
Voted: 2 Female: 0
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
: 01 Pump: 0
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 38
Literacy: 25%
Population: 94
Household: 20
Phuldumer
92
Other SHG Not Active

Services
ASHA Yes
Village Name Phuldumer

Land and
Irrigation
93
Palberi
94
95

Village Panchayat Name: Name: Name:Kalaha State Name:
Name:Palberi Name: Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh ndi Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Village Literacy Male Literate:0 0
School
0
Name:Palberi Rate:0% Village Name:
Female Literate:0
Palberi
Govt Govt Senior

School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service : No
Public Bus
Service: No
Village
Name -
Connectivity Palberi
Nearest Statutory
Town :Bhawani Patna
Village Name: Palberi • Distance in KM :70
District Head Quarter Appx Distance From

:Bhawanipatna PMA in km
96
42
ST: 42 ST Female: 20
Gravel Road: Yes
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male:
OBC: OBC Female:
All Weather Road :
No
Foot Path: Yes
15
People Not
Voted: 1
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
: 01 Pump: 0
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted:14
Literacy :0%
Population: 42
Household : 11
Palberi
97
Other SHG Not Active:

Services
ASHA
No
Village Name Palberi

Land and
Irrigation
98
Kunakadu NIYAMGIRI – THE SACRED POSSIBILITY
99

Kunakadu Name: Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh ndi Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
School
Village Name:Kunakadu 0
0
Village
Name:Kanakudu
Literacy Male Literacy:0

Govt Govt Senior
Rate:0% Female Literacy:0
Secondary
School
Secondary
School
0 0
Job Status:0 Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service: No
Village
Name-
Connectivity Kanakudu

Village Name: Kunakadu :Bhawani Patna

Patna
100
43
Gravel Road: No
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male:
OBC: OBC Female:
All Weather Road :
No
Eligible People Voted: Male Voter: 11 Foot Path: Yes

22
People Not
Voted: 1
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
: 01 Pump: 0
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted : 21
Literacy : 0%
Population : 43
Household: 8
Kunakadu
101
Other SHG
Services Not Active
Public Distribution
No
Nutritional Centres-ICDS
Not Active
ASHA
No
Village Name Kunakudu

Land and
Irrigation
Current Fallows Area (in Hectares) 0.54
102
Tadijhola
103
104

Tadijhola Name: Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh ndi Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Name:Tadijhola 0
School
0
Village Name:
Literacy Male Literacy:1 Tadijhola
Female Literacy:0
Rate:3% Job Status:0 Govt Govt Senior
Secondary Secondary
School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws: No
Railway No
Station : No
Private Bus
Service : No
Public Bus
Service: No
Village
Name-
Connectivity Tadijhola

Village Name: Tadijhola :Bhawani Patna

Patna
105
33
Gravel Road: Yes
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male:
OBC: OBC Female:
All Weather Road :
No
Voter:22 Foot Path: Yes
19 Female Voter: 09
People Not
Voted: 3
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
: 01 Pump: 0
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 19
Literacy: 3%
Population: 33
Household: 8
Tadijhola
106
Other SHG
Services Not Active:
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA
No
Village Name Tadijhola

Land and
Irrigation
107
Lamba
108
109
CD Block Sub District

Gram Name: Name: District
Village Name: Panchayat Kalyanasingp Kalyanasingp Name:Rayaga State Name:
Lamba Name: Parsali ur ur da Odisha
Govt
Primary
School:1
Private
Private
Senior
Primary
Viallage Name:Lamba School: 2
Secondary
School :0
Village Name:
Lamba
Literacy Male Literacy:0

Govt Govt Senior
Rate:0 Female Literacy:0 Secondary
School:0
Secondary
School :0
Job Status:0
Private
Secondary
School:0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service: No
Village
Name -
Connectivity Lamba
Nearest Statutory
Village Name: Lamba Town :Rayagada
• Distance in KM :70 KM
District Head Quarter Appx Distance From

:Rayagada PMA in km
110
103
ST: 103 ST Female: 52 Gravel Road: No
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 0
OBC: OBC Female: 0 All Weather Road :
Yes
Voter: Foot Path: Yes
38 Female Voter: 20
40
People Not
Voted: 2
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
:0 Pump: 01
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 38
Literacy :0%
Population: 103
Household 23
Lamba
111
Other SHG Active

Services
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name Lamba

Land and
Irrigation
Barren & Un-cultivable Land Area (in Hectares) 73.36
Fallows Land other than Current Fallows Area (in Hectares) 2.35
Net Area Sown (in Hectares) 30.27
112
Lakhpadar
113
114
Gram
Panchayat Sub District
Name: Name: District
Village Name: Kalyanasingp CD Block Kalyanasingp Name:Rayaga State Name:
Lakhpadar ur Name: Parsali ur da Odisha
Govt Primary
School :
0
Private Senior
Private Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Name:Lakhpadar :0
School
0
Village Name:
Lakhpadar
Literacy Male Literate: 1
Govt Govt Senior
Rate:1% Female Literate: 1 Secondary Secondary
School School
Job Status:0 0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Cycle-pulled Animals: No
Rickshaws :
Railway No
Station : No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name-
Connectivity Lakhpadar

Village Name: Lakhpadar :Rayagada
District Head Quarter :Rayagada

115
217
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 0
OBC: 0 OBC Female: 0 All Weather Road :
Yes
Foot Path: Yes
130
People Not
Voted: 33
Water Source
Tubewell Hand
Well: 0 Spring: 0
:0 Pump: 01
Water Supply
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 97
Literacy:1%
Population 217
Household 27
Lakhpadar
116
Other SHG Active

Services
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name Lakhpadar

Land and
Irrigation Forest Area (in Hectares) 2.38
117
Khambesi
118
119
Gram
Panchayat CD Block Sub District District
Village Name: Name: Name: Name: Name:Rayaga State Name:
Khambesi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda da Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Name:Khambesi 0
School
0
Village Name:
Literacy Male Literacy:3 Khambesi
Female Literacy:0
Rate:3% Job Status:0 Govt Govt Senior
Secondary Secondary
School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service: No
Village
Name-
Connectivity Khambesi

:Rayagada
Village Name: Khambesi • Distance in KM :95

120
105
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male:
OBC: OBC Female: All Weather Road :
Yes
Foot Path: Yes
72
People Not
Voted: 0
Water Source
Tubewell Spring: Hand
Well: 0
:0 01 Pump: 01
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 72
Literacy: 3%
Population:105
Household 22
Khambesi
121
Other SHG
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name. Khambesi

Land and
Irrigation Area under Non-Agricultural Uses (in Hectares) 1.07
Culturable Waste Land Area (in Hectares) 0
122
Jarpa
123
124
Gram
Jarpa Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda da Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Literacy Male Literate:0 0
School
0
Name:Jarpa Rate:0% Village Name:
Female Literate:0
Jarpa
Govt Govt Senior

School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name: Jarpa
Connectivity

Village Name: Jarpa :Rayagada

125
32
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 0
No
Foot Path: Yes
16
People Not
Voted: 0
Water Source
Well: 0
:0 01 Pump: 01
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted:12
Literacy: 0%
Population: 32
Household : 7
Jarpa
126
Other SHG
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA
No
Village Name Jarpa

Land and
Irrigation
127
Baturi
128
129
Gram
Baturi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda da Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Literacy Male Literate:8 0
School
0
Name:Baturi Rate:13%
Village Name:
Female Literate:2
Baturi
Govt Govt Senior

School School
0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Cycle-pulled Animals: No
Rickshaws :
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name:
Connectivity Baturi

Village Name: Baturi :Rayagada

130
Other SHG Active

Services
Gravel Road: No
Public Distribution
No
Nutritional Centres-ICDS Black Topped Road
Road
Not Active : No
ASHA Yes
No All Weather Road :
Yes
Voter: Foot Path: Yes
31 Female Voter: 18
40
People Not
Voted: 9
Water Source
Well: 0
:0 01 Pump: 01
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 31
Literacy:13%
Population 76
Household 15
Baturi
131
76
SC Male: 0
SC: 0 SC Female: 0
OBC Male: 0
Village Name Baturi

Land and
Irrigation Area under Non-Agricultural Uses (in Hectares) 44.81
Land Under Miscellaneous Tree Crops etc. Area (in Hectares) 4.47
132
Kesarpadi
133
134
Gram
Kesarapadi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda da Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Name:Kesarpadi 0
School
0
Village Name:
Kesarpadi
Literacy Male Literate :5
Govt Govt Senior
Rate: Female Literate:4 Secondary Secondary
School School
Job Status:0
11% 0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station : No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name:
Connectivity Kesarpadi

Village Name: Kesarapadi :Rayagada

135
79
Gravel Road: Yes
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 0
All Weather Road :
No
Foot Path: Yes
36
People Not
Voted: 3
Water Source
Well: 0
:0 01 Pump: 01
Water
Supply:No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 33
Literacy: 11%
Population 79
Household 16
Kesarpadi
136
Other SHG
Public Distribution
No
Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name Kesarpadi

Land and
Irrigation
Area under Non-Agricultural Uses (in Hectares)15.27
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Land Area (in Hectares) 0
137
Serkapadi
138
139
Gram
Village Name: Name: Name:Munigu Name: Name:Rayaga State Name:
Serkapadi Sibapadar da Muniguda da Odisha
Govt Primary
School
0
Private Senior
Private
Secondary
Primary School
Viallage Name:Serkapadi 0
School
0
Village Name:
Serkapadi
Literacy Male Literate:5
Govt Govt Senior
Rate:8% Female Literate:2 Secondary Secondary
School School
Job Status:0 0 0
Private
Secondary
School
0
Carts
Drivens by
Rickshaws : No
Railway No
Station: No
Private Bus
Service: No
Public Bus
Service : No
Village
Name:
Connectivity Serkapadi

Village Name: Serakapadi :Rayagada

140
92
SC Male: 0
Road
SC Female: 0
: No
OBC Male: 0
No
Foot Path: Yes
44
People Not
Voted: 08
Water Source
Well: 0
:0 01 Pump: 0
Water Supply:
No
Power Supply:
No
Voted: 36
Literacy : 8%
Population 92
Household 18
Serkapadi
141
Other SHG Active:Yes

Public Distribution Yes: (Distance in KM)
No: (Distance in KM)
Nutritional Centres-ICDS Active
Not Active
ASHA Yes
Village Name Serkapadi

Land and
Irrigation
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Land Area (in Hectares) 0
Culturable Waste Land Area (in Hectares) 0
142
Annexure: 2
APPENDIX 1: Demographic Indicators of Core Villages
No of No of Total Male Fem No. of Male Female Not
Village House Population ale Eligible Voter Voter Vote
holds voters d
12 185 953 424 529 503 178 248 77
Children/Min Literacy Rate Job Status No Village Zero Zero Zero Female
ors Literacy Male Literacy
Literacy
241 6.15 1 4 4 6
APPENDIX 2: Economic Status of village

No. of House Hold BPL APL ANTODAYA
185 163 4 18
APPENDIX 3: Education
Govt. Primary School Private Primary Senior Secondary Private Senior Colleg
No School No School No Secondary School e
3 4 0 0 0
APPENDIX 4: Access to Water

Covered Well Hand Pump Tube Wells/Borehole Tube Wells/Borehole Spring
Functioning All-round the year
0 6 5 5 5
APPENDIX 5: Access to road
Public Bus AVG distance Railway AVG distance Auto/Modified AVG distance
Service (Status range for Station range for Autos range for
service service service
0 More than 15 0 More than 15 0 More than 15
143
KM KM KM
APPENDIX 6: Road
Major District AVG distance Black Topped AVG distance Gravel AVG distance
Road range for (puce) Road range for (kasha) range for
service service Roads service
0 More than 0 More than 12 11 More than 12

15KM KM KM
APPENDIX 7: Detail Profile of Core villages:
Village Gram CD Block Sub District District State Name

Name Panchayat Name Name Name
Name
Ijirupa Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh Kalahandi ODISHA
Phuldumer Bijepur Lanjigarh Lanjigarh Kalahandi ODISHA
Palbiri Trilochanpu Lanjigarh Lanjigarh Kalahandi ODISHA
r
Kanakudu Trilochanpu Lanjigarh Lanjigarh Kalahandi ODISHA
r
Tadijhola Trilochanpu Lanjigarh Lanjigarh Kalahandi ODISHA
r
Lakhapada Parsali Kalyanasingpu Kalyanasingpur Rayagada ODISHA
r r
Baturi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda Rayagada ODISHA
Lamba Parsali Kalyanasingpu Kalyanasingpur Rayagada ODISHA
r
Jarapa Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda Rayagada ODISHA
Kesarapadi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda Rayagada ODISHA
Serakapadi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda Rayagada ODISHA
Khambesi Sibapadar Muniguda Muniguda Rayagada ODISHA
Village District Head District Head Nearest Statutory Nearest Approximate

Name Quarter Quarter Town (Name) Statutory Distance From
(Name) (Distance in Town PMA in km
km) (Distance in
km)
144
Ijirupa Bhawanipatna 66 Bhawanipatna 66

Phuldumer Bhawanipatna 71 Bhawanipatna 71 1
Palbiri Bhawanipatna 70 Bhawanipatna 70 1
Kanakudu Bhawanipatna 70 Bhawanipatna 70 1
Tadijhola Bhawanipatna 76 Bhawanipatna 76 1.5
Lakhapadar Rayagada 78 Rayagada 50 1.5
Baturi Rayagada 85 Rayagada 85
Lamba Rayagada 70 Rayagada 70 4
Jarapa Rayagada 93 Rayagada 90 1
Kesarapadi Rayagada 85 Rayagada 82
Serakapadi Rayagada 80 Rayagada 85 3.5
Khambesi Muniguda 30 Rayagada 76 1.5
Village Total Total Total Total SC Total SC Total SC Total Total ST Total
Name Popul Male Female Populati Male Female Schedu Male ST
ation Popul Populati on Populati Populati led Population Female
of ation on of on on Tribes of Village Populat
Villag of Village Popula ion
e Villag tion of
e Village
Ijirupa 37 17 20 0 0 0
Phuldumer 94 36 58 21 9 12 73 28 45
Palbiri 23 13 10 0 0 0 23 13 10
Kanakudu 39 17 22 0 0 0 35 15 20
Tadijhola 41 18 23 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lakhapadar 217 92 125 0 0 0 217 92 125
Baturi 76 36 40 0 0 0 71 33 38
Lamba 103 51 52 0 0 0 102 50 52
Jarapa 32 16 16 0 0 0 32 16 16
Kesarapadi 79 32 47 0 0 0 72 28 44
Serakapadi 92 37 55 0 0 0 92 37 55
Khambesi 105 44 61 0 0 0 105 44 61
Village Name Govt Primary Private Nearest Facility Nearest The Distance
School Primary Status Village/Town Name range if not
(Numbers) School (Govt(1)/Privat available
(Numbers) e(2))
Ijirupa 0 0 1 PAIKTHUAPADAR b
Phuldumer 0 0 1 TRILOCHANPUR a
Palbiri 0 0 1 TRILOCHANPUR a
Kanakudu 0 0 1 TRILOCHANPUR a
Tadijhola 0 0 1 GOUDTHUEGUDA a
145
Lakhapadar 0 0
Baturi 0 0 1 BISSAM CUTTACK b
Lamba 1 2
Jarapa 0 0 1 PISKAPANGA b
Kesarapadi 0 0 1 KALAHAI b
Serakapadi 0 0 1 PANIMUNDA a
Khambesi 1 0
Govt Secondary Private Nearest The Govt Private Senior

School (Numbers) Secondary Village/Town Distance Senior Secondary School
School Name range if Secondary (Numbers)
(Numbers) not School
available (Numbers)
0 0 BHAWANIPATNA b 0 0
0 0 BHAWANIPATNA a 0 0
0 0 KASHIPUR b 0 0
0 0 BISSAM CUTTACK b 0 0
0 0 KASHIPUR a 0 0
0 0 MUNIGUDA b 0 0
0 0 MUNIGUDA b 0 0
Village Name Literacy Rate Male LR Female LR Job Status

Ijirupa 18.91892 5 2 1
Lamba 0 0 0 0
Phuldumer 24.73118 10 13 0
Palbiri 0 0 0 0
Kanakudu 0 0 0 0
Tadijhola 3.030303 1 0 0
Lakhpadar 0.735294 1 1 0
146
Baturi 13.15789 8 2 0
Jarapa 0 0 0 0
Kesarapadi 11.39241 5 4 0
Serakapadi 7.608696 5 2 0
Khambesi 2.857143 3 0 0
Total 6.86932 3.166667 2 1
Village Tap Water- Tap Water- Tap Water- Tap Water Tap Water Tap Water
Name Treated Treated Treated Untreated Untreated Untreated
(Status Functioning Functioning (Status Functioning Functioning
A(1)/NA(2)) All-round in Summer A(1)/NA(2)) All-round in Summer
the year months the year months
(Status (April- (Status (April-
A(1)/NA(2)) September) A(1)/NA(2)) September)
(Status (Status
A(1)/NA(2)) A(1)/NA(2))
Ijirupa 2 2
Phuldumer 2 2
Palbiri 2 2
Kanakudu 2 2
Tadijhola 2 2
Lakhapadar 2 2
Baturi 2 2
Lamba 2 2
Jarapa 2 2
Kesarapadi 2 2
Serakapadi 2 2
Khambesi 2 2
Village Name Covered Well Covered Well Covered Well Uncovered Uncovered
(Status Functioning Functioning in Well (Status Well
A(1)/NA(2)) All-round the Summer A(1)/NA(2)) Functioning
year (Status months (April- All-round the
A(1)/NA(2)) September) year (Status
(Status A(1)/NA(2))
A(1)/NA(2))
Ijirupa 2 2
Phuldumer 2 2
Palbiri 2 2
Kanakudu 2 2
Tadijhola 2 2
Lakhapadar 2 2
Baturi 2 2
Lamba 2 2
147
Jarapa 2 2
Kesarapadi 2 2
Serakapadi 2 2
Khambesi 2 2
Village Hand Hand Hand Tube Tube Tube

Name Pump Pump Pump Wells/Borehol Wells/Borehol Wells/Borehol
(Status Functionin Functionin e (Status e Functioning e Functioning
A(1)/NA(2) g All-round g in A(1)/NA(2)) All-round the in Summer
) the year Summer year (Status months (April-
(Status months A(1)/NA(2)) September)
A(1)/NA(2) (April- (Status
) September A(1)/NA(2))
) (Status
A(1)/NA(2)
)
Ijirupa 2 1 1 1
Phuldumer 2 1 1 1
Palbiri 2 1 1 1
Kanakudu 2 1 1 1
Tadijhola 2 1 1 1
Lakhapada 1 1 1 2
r
Baturi 1 1 1 2
Lamba 1 1 1 2
Jarapa 1 1 1 2
Kesarapadi 1 1 1 2
Serakapadi 2 2
Khambesi 1 1 1 2
Village Name Spring Spring Spring River/Canal River/Canal River/Canal

(Status Functioning Functioning (Status Functioning Functioning
(Status (Status
A(1)/NA(2)) A(1)/NA(2))
Ijirupa 2 2
Phuldumer 2 2
Palbiri 2 2
Kanakudu 2 2
Tadijhola 2 2
Lakhapadar 2 2
148
Baturi 1 1 1 2
Lamba 2 2
Jarapa 1 1 1 1 2 2
Kesarapadi 1 1 1 2
Serakapadi 1 1 1 1 2 2
Khambesi 1 1 1 2
Village Spring Spring Spring River/Canal River/Canal River/Canal

Name (Status Functioning Functioning (Status Functioning Functioning
(Status (Status
A(1)/NA(2)) A(1)/NA(2))
Ijirupa 2 2
Phuldumer 2 2
Palbiri 2 2
Kanakudu 2 2
Tadijhola 2 2
Lakhapadar 2 2
Baturi 1 1 1 2
Lamba 2 2
Jarapa 1 1 1 1 2 2
Kesarapadi 1 1 1 2
Serakapadi 1 1 1 1 2 2
Khambesi 1 1 1 2
149
Village Public Bus (If not Private Bus (If not Railway (If not
Name Service available Service available Station available
(Status within the (Status within the (Status within the
A(1)/NA(2)) village, the A(1)/NA(2)) village, the A(1)/NA(2)) village, the
distance distance distance
range code range code range code
of nearest of nearest of nearest
place where place where place where
facility is facility is facility is
available is available is available is
given viz; a given viz; a given viz; a
for < 5 Kms, for < 5 Kms, for < 5 Kms,
b for 5-10 b for 5-10 b for 5-10
Kms and c Kms and c Kms and c
for 10+ kms for 10+ kms for 10+ kms
). ). ).
Ijirupa 2 c 2 c 2 c
Phuldumer 2 c 2 c 2 c
Palbiri 2 c 2 c 2 c
Kanakudu 2 c 2 c 2 c
Tadijhola 2 c 2 c 2 c
Lakhapadar 2 c 2 a 2 a
Baturi 2 c 2 c 2 c
Lamba 2 c 2 c 2 c
Jarapa 2 c 2 c 2 c
Kesarapadi 2 c 2 c 2 c
Serakapadi 2 c 2 c 2 c
Khambesi 2 c 2 c 2 c
150
Village Cycle-pulled (If not Cycle-pulled (If not Carts Driven (If not
Name Rickshaws available Rickshaws available by Animals available
(manual within the (machine within the (Status within the
driven) village, the driven) village, the A(1)/NA(2)) village, the
(Status distance (Status distance distance
A(1)/NA(2)) range code A(1)/NA(2)) range code range code
of nearest of nearest of nearest
place where place where place where
available is available is available is
given viz; a given viz; a given viz; a
for < 5 Kms, b for < 5 Kms, b for < 5 Kms,
for 5-10 Kms for 5-10 Kms b for 5-10
and c for 10+ and c for 10+ Kms and c
kms ). kms ). for 10+ kms
).
Ijirupa 1 2 2 c
Phuldumer 1 2 2 c
Palbiri 1 2 2 c
Kanakudu 1 2 2 c
Tadijhola 1 2 2 c
Lakhapadar 1 2 2 c
Baturi 1 2 2 c
Lamba 1 2 2 c
Jarapa 1 2 2 c
Kesarapadi 1 2 2 c
Serakapadi 1 2 2 c
Khambesi 1 2 2 c
151
Village Major (If not Other (If not Black (If not Gravel (If not
Name District available District available Topped available (kuchha) available
Road within Road within (pucca) within Roads within
(Status the (Status the Road the (Status the
A(1)/NA(2)) village, A(1)/NA(2)) village, (Status village, A(1)/NA(2)) village,
the the A(1)/NA(2)) the the
distance distance distance distance
range range range range
code of code of code of code of
nearest nearest nearest nearest
place place place place
where where where where
facility is facility is facility is facility is
available available available available
is given is given is given is given
viz; a viz; a for viz; a for viz; a for
for < 5 < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms,
Kms, b b for 5- b for 5- b for 5-
for 5-10 10 Kms 10 Kms 10 Kms
Kms and and c and c and c
c for for 10+ for 10+ for 10+
10+ kms kms ). kms ). kms ).
).
Ijirupa 2 c 2 c 2 a 1
Phuldumer 2 c 2 c 2 a 1
Palbiri 2 c 2 c 2 a 1
Kanakudu 2 c 2 c 2 b 1
Tadijhola 2 c 2 c 2 a 1
Lakhapadar 2 c 2 b 2 a 1
Baturi 2 c 2 c 2 b 1
Lamba 2 c 2 b 2 b 1
Jarapa 2 b 2 c 2 c 1
Kesarapadi 2 c 2 c 2 c 1
Serakapadi 2 c 2 c 2 c 2 a
Khambesi 2 c 2 c 2 c 1
Villag Water (If not All Weather (If not Navigable (If not Footpath (If not
e Bound available Road (Status available Waterways available (Status available
Name ed within A(1)/NA(2)) within (River/Canal) within the A(1)/NA( within
Maca the the (Status village, the 2)) the
dam village, village, A(1)/NA(2)) distance village,
(Statu the the range code the
s distance distance of nearest distance
A(1)/ range range place where range
NA(2)) code of code of facility is code of
nearest nearest available is nearest
place place given viz; a place
where where for < 5 Kms, where
facility is facility is b for 5-10 facility is
available available Kms and c available
is given is given for 10+ kms is given
viz; a for viz; a for ). viz; a for
< 5 Kms, < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms,
b for 5-10 b for 5-10 b for 5-10
Kms and Kms and Kms and
152
c for 10+ c for 10+ c for 10+

kms ). kms ). kms ).
Ijirupa 2 c 2 a 2 c 1
Phuld 2 c 2 a 2 a 1
umer
Palbiri 2 c 2 a 2 a 1
Kanak 2 c 2 b 2 a 1
udu
Tadijh 2 c 2 a 2 b 1
ola
Lakha 2 c 1 2 b 1
padar
Baturi 2 b 1 2 a 1
Lamb 1 1 1 1 c
a
Jarapa 1 2 b 2 b 1
Kesar 1 2 c 2 b 1
apadi
Serak 2 c 2 c 2 b 1
apadi
Kham 2 c 1 2 c 1
besi
Villag Self - (If not Public (If not Mandis/Regular (If not Weekly Haat (If not
e Help available Distribution available Market (Status available (Status available
Name Group within System within A(1)/NA(2)) within A(1)/NA(2)) within
(SHG) the (PDS) Shop the the the
(Statu village, (Status village, village, village,
s the A(1)/NA(2)) the the the
A(1)/ distance distance distance distance
NA(2) range range range range
) code of code of code of code of
nearest nearest nearest nearest
place place place place
where where where where
153
facility is facility is facility is facility is

available available available available
is given is given is given is given
viz; a for viz; a for viz; a for viz; a for
< 5 Kms, < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms,
b for 5- b for 5- b for 5- b for 5-
10 Kms 10 Kms 10 Kms 10 Kms
and c for and c for and c for and c for
10+ kms 10+ kms 10+ kms 10+ kms
). ). ). ).
Ijirupa 2 a 2 a 2 b 2 b
Phuld 2 b 2 b 2 a 2 c
umer
Palbiri 2 b 2 a 2 b 2 c
Kanak 2 b 2 a 2 a 2 b
udu
Tadijh 2 a 2 a 2 a 2 c
ola
Lakha 1 2 b 2 a 2 a
padar
Baturi 1 2 a 2 b 2 c
Lamb 1 2 b 2 c 2 b
a
Jarapa 2 b 2 c 2 c 2 a
Kesar 2 b 2 b 2 a 2 a
apadi
Serak 1 2 b 2 a 2 c
apadi
Kham 2 a 2 a 1 1
besi
Village Nutrit (If not available Nutritio (If not ASHA (If not Sports (If not available
Name ional within the nal available (Status available Field within the village,
Centr village, the Centres- within the A(1)/NA(2)) within the (Status the distance range
es- distance range Anganw village, the village, A(1)/NA code of nearest
ICDS code of nearest adi distance the (2)) place where facility
(Statu place where Centre range code distance is available is given
s facility is (Status of nearest range viz; a for < 5 Kms, b
A(1)/ available is A(1)/NA place where code of for 5-10 Kms and c
NA(2) given viz; a for (2)) facility is nearest for 10+ kms ).
) < 5 Kms, b for available is place
5-10 Kms and c given viz; a where
for 10+ kms ). for < 5 Kms, facility is
b for 5-10 available
Kms and c is given
for 10+ kms viz; a for
). < 5 Kms, b
for 5-10
Kms and c
for 10+
154
kms ).
Ijirupa 2 a 2 a 1 2 a
Phuld 2 b 2 b 1 2 b
umer
Palbiri 2 a 2 a 2 b 2 a
Kanak 2 a 2 a 2 a 2 a
udu
Tadijh 2 a 2 a 2 b 2 a
ola
Lakha 1 1 1 1
padar
Baturi 2 a 2 a 2 a 2 a
Lamba 2 b 1 1 2 b
Jarapa 2 c 2 a 2 b 2 c
Kesara 2 b 2 b 2 a 2 b
padi
Seraka 2 b 2 b 1 2 b
padi
Kham 2 a 2 a 1 2 a
besi
Village Sports Field (If not Sports (If not Daily (If not
Name (Status available Club/Recreation available Newspaper available
A(1)/NA(2)) within Centre (Status within Supply within
the A(1)/NA(2)) the (Status the
village, village, A(1)/NA(2)) village,
the the the
distance distance distance
range range range
code of code of code of
nearest nearest nearest
place place place
where where where
available available available
is given is given is given
viz; a for viz; a for viz; a for
< 5 Kms, < 5 Kms, < 5 Kms,
b for 5-10 b for 5-10 b for 5-10
Kms and Kms and Kms and
155
c for 10+ c for 10+ c for 10+

kms ). kms ). kms ).
Ijirupa 2 a 2 b 2 a
Phuldumer 2 b 2 b 2 a
Palbiri 2 a 2 a 2 b
Kanakudu 2 a 2 b 2 a
Tadijhola 2 a 2 a 2 b
Lakhapadar 1 1 1
Baturi 2 a 2 a 2 a
Lamba 2 b 2 b 1
Jarapa 2 c 2 b 2 b
Kesarapadi 2 b 2 a 2 b
Serakapadi 2 b 2 b 2 a
Khambesi 2 a 2 a 1
Village Name Assembly Polling (If not available Birth and Death (If not available
Station (Status within the Registration Office within the
A(1)/NA(2)) village, the (Status A(1)/NA(2)) village, the
distance range distance range
code of nearest code of nearest
place where place where
facility is facility is
available is given available is given
viz; a for < 5 viz; a for < 5
Kms, b for 5-10 Kms, b for 5-10
Kms and c for Kms and c for
10+ kms ). 10+ kms ).
Ijirupa 2 a 2 c
Phuldumer 2 b 2 a
Palbiri 2 a 2 a
Kanakudu 2 a 2 a
Tadijhola 2 a 2 b
Lakhapadar 1 b 2 c
Baturi 2 a 2 c
156
Lamba 2 b 2 b
Jarapa 2 b 2 c
Kesarapadi 2 b 2 c
Serakapadi 2 b 2 c
Khambesi 2 a 2 c
Village Agricult Manufactur Handicrafts Agricultur Manufac Handicraf Agricult

Name ural ers Commodities al turers ts ural
Commod Commoditie (First) Commodit Commo Commodit Commo
ities s (First) ies dities ies dities
(First) (Second) (Second) (Second) (Third)
Ijirupa PADDY
Phuldume PADDY
r
Palbiri PADDY
Kanakudu PADDY
Tadijhola PADDY
Lakhapad PADDY RAGI MAIZE
ar
Baturi PADDY RAGI MAIZE
Lamba PADDY RAGI MAIZE
Jarapa PADDY RAGI
Kesarapad PADDY RAGI
i
Serakapad PADDY RAGI ALASI
i
Khambesi PADDY RAGI PULSES
Sl. No. Village Name No. of People voted Not Voted

Eligible
voters
Total Male Female
1 Ijirupa 1 4 4 0 -3
2 Lamba 40 38 18 20 2
3 Phuldumer 65 49 17 32 16
4 Palberi 15 14 7 7 1
5 Kunakadu 22 21 11 10 1
6 Tadijhola 22 19 10 9 3
7 Lakhpadar 130 97 39 58 33
8 Batudi 40 31 13 18 9
9 Jarpa 16 12 6 6 4
10 Kesarpadi 36 33 10 23 3
157
11 Serkapadi 44 36 20 16 8
12 Khambesi 72 72 23 49 0
Total 503 426 178 248 77
158
Annexure 3: Gallery of Visits
[Activist Satya Mahor & Dodhi Pushika at the Bisham Cuttack rally against industrialisation.]
159
[Lingraj Azad Leading the rally to Block Office]
[Interaction with Lado Sikaka at Lakhpadar]
160
[The house of Lado Sikaka at Lakhpadar]
[Interaction with farmers at Tadijhola]
161
[Interaction with Rama Majhi Village Influencer Phuldumer]
The “dongars” at Lakhpadar
162
Annexure 4: News Articles on Vedanata Lanjigarh
[The Arji article written by Md.Ali in 2004]
163
164
165
Annexures 5: Links to web pages & internet

documents
Top Webs for “Vedanta” key words

www.vedantaresources.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedanta_Resources
www.vedantaaluminium.com/
www.vedantalimited.com/ (Vedanta Limited - Global Diversified
Natural Resources Company)
https://www.vedanta.com/ (Books on Vedanta Philosophy)
www.vedantaworld.org/ (Vedanta World)
www.vedantaworld.org/about/what-is- Vedanta (What is Vedanta?
- Vedanta World)
economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Vedanta-Resources (Vedanta
Resources: Latest News & Videos, Photos about |)
Top Webs for “Vedanta Niyamgiri” key words
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niyamgiri
www.thehindu.com › Opinion › Comment (Revisiting the legend of
Niyamgiri – The Hindu)
www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria (Dongria Kondh -
Survival International)
166
thewire.in/.../supreme-court- must-safeguard- tribal-rights- over-

niyamgiri- hills-in- odis (Supreme Court Must Safeguard Tribal Rights
Over Niyamgiri)
www.livemint.com › Politics › Policy (Supreme Court refuses to
hear fresh plea on Niyamgiri mining - Livemint)
www.dailyo.in/politics/vedanta-loses- niyamgiri-forest- rights-
act.../10627.html (Niyamgiri adivasis' victory against Vedanta is
a landmark for land ...)
www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/04/vedanta-bauxite- mining-
niyamgiri- odisha/ (HowBauxite Mining Is Affecting The Niyamgiri
Tribe In Odisha
in.reuters.com/article/india-mining- idINKCN0SM0WX20151028
(Odisha looks to revive bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills | Reuters)
articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com › Collections › Vedanta
Resources
OMC writes to environment ministry seeking guidance on
Niyamgiri ...
Top results for Niyamgiri Problem
http://www.slideshare.net/sherin23/vedanta-niyamgiri- mining-
issue
http://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/features/orissa-niyamgiri-
rejects-vedanta- entry-impact-reasons/story/197972.html
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/the-significance- of-
niyamgiri/article4677438.ece
167
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-rejects-
vedantas-niyamgiri- mining-project/article5570028.ece
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide- show-1- why-
cancellation- of-vedantas- niyamgiri-project-is-
worrying/20140114.htm
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/niyamgiri-answers-
41914
http://www.livemint.com/Companies/ZNlmBdg6rur3VOR7UvAmFN
/Villages-reject- Vedantas-proposal-to- mine-bauxite.html
http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/Saxena_Vedanta-1.pdf
http://indiatogether.org/rejection-of- development-in- the-
niyamgiri- hills-by- dongria-kondh- human-rights
http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/dongria
168
Additional Photos of Visit
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176

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NIYAMGIRI – THE SACRED POSSIBILITY

Revisit, retrospection of socioeconomic fibres of VAL, the Stakeholders, local and

Independent Study conducted and submitted to: Vedanta Aluminium Ltd

FIDR 27 Dec 2016

PDS Public Distribution System

Culture & Heritage ................................................................................................................................... 67

1. The communities at the villages

Review of secondary data from:

 State & district reports

1. Focussed Group Discussions.

5. Survey through Informal interaction.

Area Major Findings

3. Desperate attempts are being tried to revive control to keep the

Developmental 1. The one-off, sporadic community development initiatives have

2. Current initiatives are not planned strategically, do not touch the

3. Vedanta Sustainability Framework, a well laid out procedure has

4. Prime focus need to be on sustainable livelihood and betterment

5. Basic health services not accessible to many villagers hence still

6. Still following the traditional mode of cultivation hence the

7. Most of the sales of agriculture produce or craft work are distress

8. Lack of access instruments for financial inclusion make them

1. All the initiatives are being attempted through middlemen in the

3. Interestingly most of the anti-VAL activists in the area have benefitted

A SNAPSHOT OF THE CORE VILLAGES WHICH VOTED

Village No of Population Children Literacy Nearest Nearest

1 Ijirupa 10 37 7 18.92 < 5 Km < 5 Km

2 Lamba 23 103 24 0.00 >10Km >10Km

3 Phuldumer 20 94 17 24.73 >5 Km <5 Km

4 Palberi 11 42 17 0.00 >10 Km > 5Km

5 Kunakadu 8 43 22 0.00 >10 Km > 5Km

6 Tadijhola 8 33 10 3.03 >10 Km >10 Km

7 Lakhpadar 27 217 21 0.92 >15 Km > 15 Km

8 Batudi 15 76 12 13.16 >15 Km >15 Km

Basic amenities condition is as worse than any other core village.

Being a Tribal village they share extreme anti Vedanta views.

The concept of Gram Sabha

The Panchayati Raj system:

The Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act:

Powers of the Gram Sabha under PESA:

2007 – Green Kalahandi

2008 – Environment 2010 – MoEF turns

2010 - Rahul Gandhi’s 2010 – Saxena

2012 – SC ruling for 2013 – Gram Sabha

Voting Population People Voted Population Not Voted:

Male Voted Female Voted

Sl. No. Village No. of People voted Not Voted

Voting Pattern of Gram Sabha

No of People Voted Vs. People Not Voted

The gender distribution

“Storied” hate campaign

[Road to Lakhpadar village in K.Singhpur Block, Rayagada District]

[Lakhpadar village in K.Singhpur Block, Rayagada District]

In the labyrinth of bureaucracy, legal complications, government approvals and activists’

Understanding the Stakeholders

The local tribals can be divided into three categories:

The Community Initiatives by VAL-Lanjigarh

Development Initiatives taken by VAL over the years