The mines, to open on Tuesday, promise 120,000 tonnes of bauxite supplies every month.

With the tribals of Niyamgiri hilly region in Kalahandi district rejecting the proposal for bauxite mining in the first Gram Sabha held on Thursday last in Rayagada district, the outcome of the sec

lanjigarh : Thirty two voters from the remote Kesarpadi village, part of the adjoining district of Rayagada, are expected to participate in the second Gram Sabha on Monday for deciding on allowing

Apart from keeping a watch on proceedings, NGOs are also holding mock gram sabhas to tutor villagers on how to express their opinion in these meets.

In a setback to Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Aluminium (VAL), all 36 residents who participated in the first gram sabha meeting at Serkapadi village of Rayagada district on Thursday rejected a proposal

Gram Sabhas will also consider the religious and cultural rights of Dongaria Kondhs residing on Niyamgiri hills

With the gram sabhas in 12 villages identified by the state government to decide the fate of a bauxite mining project at Niyamgiri all set to begin on Thursday, the district administrations of Kalahandi and Raygada have received as many as 64 forest right claims (both individual and community) for validation at these vallge meetings.

Ahead of the gram sabhas to decide the fate of bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills, the Kalahandi district administration has received only four fresh claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.

State govt had decided to organise gram sabhas in 12 villages, including five in Kalahandi district

The Rayagada district administration has received 129 objections from five out of seven villages in the district identified by the state government for holding of gram sabhas to decide the fate of a bauxite mining project at Niyamgiri. Of these, 40 objections have been filed by individuals.

Supreme Court to receive documents after validation by village councils

The deadline given by the Odisha government for compiling and verifying the forest rights claims of villagers on the Niyamgiri hills ended on Sunday. After the Supreme Court's April 18 order on forest clearance for Niyamgiri mining project, the state government had given six weeks' time for submission of forest, cultural and religious rights claims by Dongria Kondhs, a primitive tribe, residing in the hilly terrain.

The Supreme Court on April 18 ordered the villagers be provided with basic forest rights in form of the land titles

A recent show on a local Doordarshan channel about Dongria Kondhs, indigenous people who inhabit the plateaus of the Niyamgiri hill ranges in Odisha, ended with a scene where a young member of a tribe throws away some rupee coins given by a government official, asks for a matchbox instead and quickly vanishes into the jungle.