The refinery, which since inception has run on bauxite obtained from external sources, has been shut since Dec 5 last year for the want of raw material

The Odisha law department will submit its views on the Supreme Court (SC) order on Niyamgiri bauxite mining in 2-3 days, paving the way for the government to hold gram sabhas that will decide if mining activity can take place there.

In a follow up to the Supreme Court order empowering the village committees (palli sabha) to decide the fate of bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri hills, the Union ministry of tribal affairs (MoTA) has asked the Odisha government to take necessary steps to create awareness about holding of palli sabhas.

The ministry has asked the state SC and ST department to issue advertisements in local newspapers informing all tribals and traditional forest dwellers in Kalahandi and Raygada districts to file claims of religious and cultural rights, along with the individual and community rights under the Forest Right Act.

The state government plans to irrigate more than 14 lakh hectare arable land by sinking deep tube-wells and setting up lift irrigation (LI) projects.

With the clock ticking, the tribal affairs ministry has set the ball rolling for village assemblies or gram sabhas to decide on allowing Vedanta to source bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills, consider

The Supreme Court judgment last week directing Orissa to hold gram sabha meetings in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts over whether bauxite mining can be allowed in the Niyamgiri mountains has opene

The Supreme Court’s decision to let gram sabhas decide the fate of Vedanta’s Niyamgiri mining project will make it difficult for the government to divert forestland for industry without the con

The Supreme Court’s decision to let gram sabhas decide the fate of Vedanta’s Niyamgiri mining project will make it difficult for the government to divert forestland for industry without the consent of tribals and local population.

The apex court’s ruling on Thursday puts gram sabhas or village assemblies virtually at par with statutory and regulatory bodies, and gives a broader prism of rights to indigenous communities by defining the Forest Rights Act as more than just heritable property rights.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Vedanta Group's bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa will have to get the gram sabha's clearance on whether it affects the cultural a