After a  five year struggle by tribal people the Indian government has given the go ahead for a controversial mine planned by UK company Vedanta which will destroy a sacred mountain that is the ancestral home to thousands of people.

In a document received by ActionAid yesterday dated 28th April, The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave the environmental clearance to British-listed company Vedanta to start mining. The notification states a period of 30 days to file an appeal against this clearance on environmental grounds but full-scale mining could  start at any time.

Bratindi Jena, heads of ActionAid's work on tribal rights said: "The environmental go ahead to mine the Niyamgiri hill held sacred by Kondh indigenous community has come as a shock. The tribal people have been campaigning against the project and mining. They are totally against this mine which will destroy their way of life."

The Kondh tribe lead a self-sufficient life nurturing the forest-covered region and relying on it for their food, culture and medicines. They also worship the mountain as their god.
Kumti Majhi a tribal leader part of the Niyamgiri Surksha Samiti said: "We did not get any notice of this clearance. It has happened in a very underhand way. Just three days before this notification, a public hearing was held to seek go ahead for the expansion of Vedanta refinery in Lanjigarh".

He continued: "We cannot live without our god mountain and the forest  and we will continue our peaceful struggle. It is a life and death battle and Kondh people are united on this".

Vedanta Resources plc, a British mining company, plan to build an open-pit mine for bauxite (a raw form of aluminum) in the area. Official reports have suggested the mine will lead to massive deforestation, threaten key water sources, endangered animals and destroy local ecosystems.

ActionAid has been campaigning alongside the tribal people to prevent mining on this sacred Indian site for five years. It condemns the proposed destruction of one of India’s last pristine forests which the charity argues could undermine the Kondh’s collective identity and change their way of life for ever.