Amnesty opposes Vedanta ops in Orissa

Says, the company should neither be given mining rights nor allowed to expand existing plant

GN Bureau | February 9, 2010



The Amnesty International on Tuesday said that UK-based firm Vedanta should not be given mining rights in the forested Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa until it got "informed consent" of the tribal people.

London–based Amnesty said "no process to seek the (tribal) community's informed consent has been established" and therefore, the Indian government should not allow it the mining rights until the 8,000-strong Dongria Kondh tribals gave their permission.

The group also said that Vedanta was planning a six-fold expansion of its existing alumina refinary plant in Orissa but this should not be allowed until pollution and health issues affecting the tribals were resolved.

In a report, released here on Tuesday, Amnesty said those living near the Lanjigarh refinery in Orissa breathed polluted air and were afraid to drink from or bathe in local rivers. It called on Vedanta Resources not to expand the refinery or mine for bauxite nearby before resolving the problems.

Opponents of the project say the mine will destroy the area's ecosystem and threatens the future of the Dongria Kondh.

Amnesty's statement came as Survival International, which campaigns on behalf of indigenous people, appealed to film director James Cameron to help it stop the mine in an advertisement in US entertainment magazine Variety.

Comments

 

Other News

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter