India's environment and forests minister today warned the British mining company Vedanta Resources that it would be prosecuted if it went ahead with plans to open a bauxite mine in a sacred part of India without full permission from the Indian government."They have got environmental approval in principle. They have not got full forest clearance. If mining is taking place in Niyamgiri, then it is illegal," said Jairam Ramesh, the environment minister, speaking in India's upper house. "They can be prosecuted."
Vedanta plans to open the mine on Niyamgiri mountain in the state of Orissa, eastern India, in September. Activists believe it will have catastrophic effects on the region's ecosystem and threaten the future of the 8,000-strong Dongria Kondh tribe.
Ramesh has said that all applications for mining in forest areas now requires not only the forestry clearances, but also evidence that the rules of the Tribal Rights Act have been followed. "Had the Tribal Acts been in place, the chances are that this project [of Vedanta] would not have been cleared in the first place," he added.
Last week, the inspector general of forests wrote to all the state governments in India insisting that all diversions of forest land for projects like mines must have the written permission of all the affected village councils.
"Had this been in place when Vedanta first applied for forest clearance for the Niyamgiri project, it would have stopped the mine in its tracks, due to local opposition," said Jo Woodman at Survival.
A statement from Vedanta said: "Vedanta Resources has always made clear that we would not commence mining until we had all the relevant permissions. We are working within the law and we will commence work only when all environmental clearances have been granted."
SOURCE : guardian.co.uk
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