Supreme Court: No bauxite-mining in Orissa for Vedanta

In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court has barred Vedanta Resources Plc from mining bauxite in the forest hills in Orissa. The verdict came as a victory for the tribal people in Niyamgiri Hills in Kalahandi, who have been protesting against the Vedanta Alumina. The court refused to take "the risk" of handing over an important 'national asset' to a company. It asked Vedanta Alumina to come back with a new proposal for the project.

Vedanta wanted to dig open-cast mines in the Niyamgiri hills to feed its alumina refinery. While both the centre and state government have backed its plan, thousands of tribals and environmentalist vociferously opposed it. According to tribals, the mine would destroy their sacred hill and livelihood. The environmentalists were opposed to the project, as it would damage the rich biodiversity of the hill and disrupt water sources for spring and streams.