Vedanta's Sijimali bauxite mine project gets expert panel nod for environmental clearance

📌 Summary:

• Union Environment Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on non-coal mining recommended environmental clearance (in May 15 meeting) for Vedanta Ltd's Sijimali bauxite mine project
• Site: hilltop straddling Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in Odisha, in the Eastern Ghats
• Project size: 1,549 hectares; 709.72 ha of forest land diversion required; 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite reserves
• Bauxite to feed Vedanta's alumina smelter at Lanjigarh, Kalahandi
• 18 villages across Thuamul Rampur (Kalahandi) and Kashipur (Rayagada) tehsils affected
• Clearance conditional on (a) obtaining Stage-II forest clearance for mining and (b) abiding by SC and NGT pronouncements in two pending project-related cases
• Stage-I forest clearance already granted in December 2025 by Forest Advisory Committee
• Displacement: 129 families — Tijimali (51) and Malipadar (78); resettlement at Kurkuti and Chandgiri
• Biodiversity: 24 Schedule-I species (Wildlife Protection Act) within 10 km — elephant, sloth bear, king cobra, pangolin; Wildlife Conservation Plan of ₹34.44 crore approved
• Tribal/PESA dimensions: Kandha and Paroja STs and forest-dwelling SCs allege Gram Sabha resolutions on Forest Rights Act, 2006 are "fraudulent"; case in Orissa HC; activist Prafulla Samantara opposes
• Violent clashes occurred April 2026 between police and tribal villagers in Rayagada over the access road; project mired in protests on customary rights, water sources, sacred groves

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Environment — EIA, mining vs forest conservation; GS1 Society — tribal rights; GS2 Governance — FRA & Gram Sabha; GS3 Internal Security — extremism-prone PESA areas

📝 Prelims Facts:

• EAC = Expert Appraisal Committee (constituted under EIA Notification 2006); recommends environmental clearance under MoEFCC
• FAC = Forest Advisory Committee (under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980); Stage-I (in-principle) vs Stage-II (final) forest clearance
• Forest Rights Act, 2006 — recognises individual and community forest rights; Gram Sabha consent required for diversion in Scheduled Areas (Niyamgiri SC judgment, 2013)
• Schedule-I, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: highest protection (elephant, tiger, pangolin etc.)
• Eastern Ghats: discontinuous mountain range; rich bauxite deposits (Niyamgiri, Sijimali)

🔑 Key Term: Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 — Recognises individual and community rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers; mandates Gram Sabha consent for any forest land diversion in Scheduled Areas