Sijimali mines: Decision on Vedanta’s forest land diversion plan deferred

new delhi: The Union Environment ministry has deferred a decision on Vedanta’s proposal to divert over 700 hectares of forest land in Odisha’s Rayagada and Kalahandi districts for the Sijimali Bauxite Mines, citing unresolved issues over community consent, compensatory afforestation and ecological risks, official records show.

The proposal, taken up at the Forest Advisory Committee’s meeting on August 25, seeks diversion of 564.58 hectares in the Rayagada forest division and 143.62 hectares in the Kalahandi (South) division from a total leasehold area of 1,548.78 hectares.

Vedanta was declared the preferred bidder for the block in a March 2023 auction and plans to mine nine million tonnes of bauxite annually for 31 years. The block is estimated to hold 311 million tonnes of reserves.

According to the proposal, the mine is needed to partly meet the raw material demand of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, which operates at six million tonnes per annum capacity. The project also involves the displacement of 100 families from Malipadar in Rayagada and Tijamali in Kalahandi.

The FAC noted that Odisha had submitted reports from the district collectors certifying due procedure in obtaining Gram Sabha resolutions under the Forest Rights Act.

However, the committee said the reports did not address concerns raised by villagers and petitioners before the Orissa High Court, according to the minutes of the meeting.