The villagers who took part in the 11th gram sabha held at Khambesi village in Rayagada district on Tuesday rejected the proposed bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills.
As many 50 out of the 72 voters of the village who participated in the Gram Sabha unanimously passed a resolution strongly opposing the joint initiative of Odisha Mining Corporation and Vedanta Aluminium Limited to extract bauxite from Niyamgiri hills to supply ore to Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.
The Gram Sabha was held in the presence of Rayagada Additional Sessions Judge, Sarat Chandra Mishra.
Odisha government had decided to facilitate holding of Gram Sabha in 12 villages as per the April 18 order of the Supreme Court.
The 10 gram sabhas that were held earlier had opposed the proposed bauxite mining in Niyamgiri with the locals claiming their religious rights over the entire Niyamgiri spread over parts of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.
The last Gram Sabha will be held at Jarapa village in Rayagada district on August 19.
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