The State Government has decided to seek legal opinion over possibility of increasing the number of villages which will hold gram sabhas to decide on proposed bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills for Vedanta project.
The statement by the Government’s Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development Department on Thursday on the possibility of seeking legal opinion follows the Dongaria tribes appealing to Governor SC Jamir to intervene in the dispute on the number of villages to hold the gram sabhas.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and local tribes have demanded conducting of gram sabhas in more villages and opposed the Government bid to hold such meetings in only 12 of them.
The Government has already initiated steps for conducting gram sabhas in 12 villages of Niyamgiri hills located in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, but Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS), an apex body of local tribals, has demanded such meetings in 104 villages.
Official sources, however, maintain that it would not be feasible to hold gram sabhas in all villages of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. Besides, the process would also be very time consuming as there are 4,500 villages in the districts.
Of 12 villages identified by the State Government for holding gram sabhas, seven are in Rayagada district and the rest in Kalahandi district.