The four-member committee under NAC member NC Saxena was set up in late June to determine whether to allow the diversion of nearly 661 hectares of forest land in the Niyamgiri hills in the Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Orissa. The proposal to mine bauxite from the Lanjigarh mines in the Niyamgiri Hills was submitted by the Orissa Mining Corporation. The Anil Agarwal promoted Vedanta will source bauxite mined by the Orissa Mining Corporation for its alumina plants.
The environment ministry has broadened and redefined the scope of the committee. Going beyond the scope of investigation spelt out in the June 29 order, the committee will now investigate and ascertain the status of implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in and around the proposed project area. The panel will study the “likely physical and economic displacement" that the project will cause as well as the “resource displacement" of forest users and the plans for their rehabilitation. Read the full report here.
Source: The Economic Times, New Delhi
