Villagers from Mali Parbat are willing to compensate state for its loss in royalty from bauxite mines

Villagers protesting against Hindalco’s plan to mine bauxite at Mali Parbat in the Koraput district in Odisha have come up with a unique proposal that offers to compensate the state for its loss in revenue from royalty. Forty one villages from the district, two thirds of whose largely tribal population live below poverty line, have proposed to soon pass panchayat resolutions promising to pay . 35 crore, or what they estimate will be the royalty Hindalco is likely to pay the state over 15 years of the project’s life. Hindalco estimates that its industrial activity in the backward region will earn the state three to four times as much.