In a major jolt to the State Government and State-owned Odisha Mining Cooperation (OMC), the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the OMC’s plea for conducting fresh public hearing for bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri Hills.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the OMC’s appeal, thereby ending the hope of the Government to go in for a fresh round of Gram Sabhas to facilitate the Vedanta company to extract bauxite.
Meanwhile, Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick said the Government would first study the court judgment before taking a further decision on the issue.
“let the Government receive the judgment copy. We will study what the court has observed. Then, we can act further,” said Mallick.
last month, while rejecting the OMC’s petition, the Supreme Court had directed the Government to make a fresh appeal by making all the stakeholders parties.
In 2013, as per the SC order, Gram Sabhas had been held in and around the villages of the Niyamgiri Hills, where the Dongaria tribals unanimously opposed to any mining activity.