Vedanta Aluminium Limited belonging to London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc appears to have received a setback on Monday with the rejection of the proposal by tribal people at all gram sabhas held in Odisha to find out whether mining bauxite ore in Niyamigir hills was an infringement of religious, community, cultural and individual rights of Dongria Kondhs, primitive tribal group and other traditional forest dwellers. The gram sabhas are being conducted on a directive by the Supreme Court on April 18. The Centre is disputing the Odisha government’s decision to restrict the number of gram sabhas to 12 villages whereas the Naveen Patnaik government strongly defended its decision. A team deputed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs will visit Niyamigir Hills to look into the claims of Odisha government from August 5 to 8. At the gram sabha held at Phuldumer in Kalahandi district on Monday, the seventh so far, a resolution was adopted opposing mining in Niyamgiri saying their ‘ista debata’ (presiding deity) Niyamraja lives on top of the hills spreading over neighbouring Rayagada district. “The overwhelming rejection, by Dongria Kondh Adivasi (indigenous) communities, of a proposal to mine their sacred lands is an unprecedented victory for indigenous rights in the face of business interests,” Amnesty International said in a press release. Amnesty said the decision meant that a majority of the 12 villages that were being officially consulted by the Odisha authorities had rejected the proposal. The news comes in the same week as Vedanta Resources Annual General Meeting (AGM) is slated for August 1 in London. It is an unprecedented victory for indigenous rights in the face of business interests, says Amnesty International