The bauxite reserve, spread over 1,500 hectares, covers Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. With an estimated reserve of 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite, Sijimali is located close to Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district. Wikimedia CommonsClashes between rural tribal communities and police near Odisha’s Rayagada district left at least 40 police personnel and 25 residents injured on Tuesday.The immediate trigger for the violence was the construction of a 3-km approach road leading to the Sijimali bauxite mine in Kashipur, officials said. But the opposition to the road reflects a long-simmering discontent over the bauxite project, ever since the mine was handed over to Vedanta Ltd in 2023 through an auction.Concerns over bauxite projectThe project’s approval has been contentious. The district administration has stated that Gram Sabhas (meetings comprising all adults in a village) were held in all eight affected villages on December 8, 2023, under the Forest Rights Act, and that the villages’ residents gave their “unanimous approval”. Vedanta has also submitted a proposal to the Centre, seeking clearances for mining.The residents, however, alleged that the Gram Sabhas were conducted fraudulently and their signatures were forged. They have held protests against the project over concerns that it would endanger their livelihoods.Vedanta, meanwhile, says it has received Stage-1 forest clearance from the Union government and is targeting commissioning the project next year. Stage-1 clearance is a conditional approval, where the company must comply with compensatory afforestation, deposit funds for diversion of forest land, etc.Significance of Odisha’s depositsSijimali is part of the Eastern Ghats hill ranges and is interspersed with valleys. The bauxite reserve, spread over 1,500 hectares, covers Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. With an estimated reserve of 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite, Sijimali is located close to Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.Alumina is refined from bauxite ore and used to produce aluminium, which is instrumental in making everything from soda cans to aircraft. Aluminium’s strength, lightness and conductivity allow for a multiplicity of uses. It is also the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust, and the third most common element, after oxygen and silicon.Story continues below this adAccording to the Indian Bureau of Mines’ 2022 Yearbook, Odisha alone accounts for 41% of India’s bauxite resources, and was the leading producer in 2021-22, comprising about 73% of the total production. Beyond bauxite, Odisha has some of the richest mineral deposits in the country, including high-grade iron ore, coal, nickel, gemstones and graphite, together accounting for nearly 17% of India’s total mineral reserves.Past protests against miningVedanta had earlier faced rejection in its bid to mine bauxite from the nearby eco-sensitive Niyamgiri hill, inhabited by the Dongria Kondhs, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group which worships Niyam Raja as the God of the Niyamgiri forest. Vedanta and the state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation had formed a joint venture to mine the bauxite reserve for the Lanjigarh alumina refinery. The project ran into rough weather after the Centre refused Stage-II forest clearance in 2010 for diverting 660 hectares of forest land. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the mining project required clearance from the Gram Sabhas. Later that year, all 12 Gram Sabhas rejected the plan.Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Odisha