Appeal n° 316 (from 28 March to 6 June 2008)

In India the Supreme Court is about to grant authorization to the British company Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite at the summit of Niyamgiri Mountain in the State of Orissa. This authorization would enable the company to firmly establish itself in the region and to increase its profits by exploiting the country’s natural wealth. Yet for the local tribal communities, especially the 10,000 Dongria Kondhs living on the slopes of this mountain, it would be disastrous. Mining in this area would seriously harm their lifestyle, their culture, their religion and most probably their subsistence. ActionAid India is supporting the Dongria Kondhs in their struggle and has urged the Indian Prime Minister not to grant Vedanta a permit to mine in this area.

Bauxite is the main mineral used in the production of aluminium. Because of its low density, durability and resistance, demand for this mineral is high in various industries world-wide, especially in transport and construction. Hence, the attractiveness of the bauxite-rich Niyamgiri Mountain for companies such as Vedanta.

The multinational is already present in the area: in 2004 one of its subsidiaries, Sterlite, set up an aluminium refinery at the foot of the mountain, at Lanjigarh, where entire villages were moved. The displaced populations were rehoused three kilometres away in prefabricated buildings under police surveillance. At the time, serious accusations were made against the firm, most of which were confirmed [1]. They included illegal expansion of production, irresponsible management of dangerous waste, violation of native populations’ rights, indecent wages, dangerous working conditions in the mines and factories, and acts of corruption. In light of this disastrous record, the local communities’ worries are perfectly understandable.

Local populations in danger

Phulme Majhi, one of the inhabitants of Niyamgiri, explains: "For us, it’s a matter of life or death. Niyam Raja (the god of Niyamgiri Mountain) is threatened and, with him, our land, our resources and our lifestyle are threatened".

Approval of the plan to open the mine would be sacrilege for this tribal community. Niyamgiri Mountain, meaning "the mountain of the law", is a sacred place for the Dongria Kondhs, the tribal community living on its slopes. This is where they worship the god Niyam Raja ("lord of the law"). Hundreds of small ceremonies are held every year on this site to pay homage to him. Entire villages go there to make offerings of rice, pigeons, goats, fresh fruit or flowers.

"Just as it seems unthinkable to move the Al-aqsa mosque or the Saint Sépulcre church", explains a defender of the Dongria Kondhs, "so too it is inconceivable to move or replace the sacred sites of indigenous Indian communities. Niyamgiri is a part of the Kondh religion like any place of worship is for other religions. The difference is that this is a natural site, for the roots of the Kondh religion are in nature".

Apart from harming the local community’s religion, the proposed mine would threaten their very livelihood. The Dongria Kondhs live from subsistence agriculture in the forests of the Niyamgiri mountain range. Their culture is highly sustainable: they cultivate fruit, vegetables and cereals and live on the banks of the countless streams on the mountain slopes. The forest that the Dongria religion has preserved over a surface area of 670 hectares is one of the last natural forests of Orissa. The bauxite in the mountain retains monsoon waters and redistributes it in small doses throughout the year.

"The Kondhs understand better than any scientists that the mountain is their source of life, and that if the site of the sacred summit that they have protected is deforested and exploited, their livelihood is threatened", one of them explains.

The inhabitants of this mountain emphasize the fact that no financial compensation, irrespective of the amount, could make up for the incalculable loss that the exploitation of this mine would represent. On the contrary, the case of the Sterlite refinery at Lanjigarh has shown that the large sums of money injected for local "development" simply fuel corruption. This is not what the Dongria Kondhs want. They want small-scale development, based on medical services and education, under their own control.

A court case marred by irregularities

In November 2007 the Indian Supreme Court rejected Vedanta’s project to mine bauxite on Niyamgiri Mountain, on the grounds of the multinational’s poor environmental and human rights record. The Court ruled on 23 November 2007 that Vedanta was not trustworthy, in view of its diverse violations of human rights and environmental protection throughout the world. However, the Orissa State government has since authorized exploitation of the mine in partnership with the company’s Indian subsidiary, Sterlite, 80% of which is owned by Vedanta.

After a court case lasting nearly three years, the Indian Supreme Court now seems to be on the point of granting Vedanta authorization to mine bauxite on Niyamgiri Mountain, on the basis of recommendations issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Forests, and the Orissa government.

In 2004 the Sterlite refinery was granted authorization, notwithstanding the fact that the Supreme Court Central Committee strongly advised against allowing this firm to implement its project. This has had the consequences described above. Today, if Vedanta is allowed to mine the mountain, two of the soundest guarantees of the Indian Constitution will be violated: the right of "a "primitive tribal group" to its territorial integrity and to decide on its own path of development [2] , and the right to religious practices and beliefs [3].

FURTHER INFORMATION

ActionAid India

ActionAid currently works with over 300 civil society organizations in India, and with 12 million poor and excluded persons in 24 states. It focuses its action on the rights of the most marginalized Indian communities, faced with serious difficulties concerning access to land, resources, services and institutions.
In the present case, ActionAid supports Niyamgiri Surakshya Samiti, the local organisation protesting against the Vedanta project.

To know more about ActionAid India: http://actionaidindia.org/

HungerFREE Campaign
Peuples Solidaires is participating and relaying the HungerFREE Campaign. The objective of this campaign, launched in 2007 for five years, is to promote the right to food at international and national levels. It is based on real cases of violation of economic, social and cultural rights, like that of Vedanta. For more information on this campaign, see the following websites: www.peuples-solidaires.org
www.actionaid.org

Appeal in liaison with Survival

The international organization Survival, which supports tribal communities through public opinion campaigns, is participating in this campaign and has written to the judges of the Supreme Court and to the Indian government, exhorting them not to authorize mining on Niyamgiri Mountain. For more information see: www.survivalfrance.org

SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION!

Sign the petition to the Indian Prime Minister here: www.petitiononline.com/niyam/petition-sign.html

[1] See the report of the Council on Ethics of the Government Pension Funds - Global, Norway, 15 May 2007.

[2] Schedule V of the Indian Constitution.

[3] Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.