Koraput: Thousands of people from the tribal community held a demonstration in Odisha’s Koraput district Tuesday, opposing the proposed bauxite mining project in Nageswari Reserve Forest.
The agitators, who belonged to 13 gram sabhas in Nandapur block, held a protest march under the banner of the Community Forest Resource Management Committees (CRMCs).
They have been opposing the project, citing threats to the environment and their livelihood.
Seeking the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu to stop the project, they submitted a memorandum to Nandapur Tahasildar Prabhati Jhodia.
In the memorandum, the villagers alleged that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) of 1996, and rules under the Fifth Schedule were being violated for the proposed mining project.
“The leasing of Nageswari Reserve Forest for mining is a direct violation of the FRA, which mandates the consent of gram sabhas before any diversion of forest land. Our gram sabhas were neither consulted, nor did they give consent for this project,” it said.
The district administration and the Odisha State Pollution Control Board held a public hearing March 6 on the mining project.
“The memorandum will be sent to the state government for necessary action,” said the tahasildar.
