CLOSED: Stop Vedanta devastating Indian communities

This action is now closed. Thank you to all those who have taken this action. For more updates on our campaign on Vedanta and corporate abuse, please visit www.amnesty.org.uk/vedanta

Background to this action

UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources is threatening the human rights of indigenous communities in the Indian state of Orissa. The company is planning to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills and expand its alumina refinery at the foot of the Hills, in Lanjigarh.

Processes to assess the human rights and environmental impact of the proposed projects have been wholly inadequate. The Indian government has so far failed to respect and protect the human rights of communities, particularly the rights to traditional lands, water, food, health, including a healthy environment, and work.

Update: 28 July 2010
Over 30,000 people from around the world signed an Amnesty petition calling on Vedanta to respect the rights of local communities in Orissa. The petition was handed in at the company's AGM in London. Read more

Read the full report: 'Don't mine us out of existence' (PDF)

• See pictures and video from our demonstration outside Vedanta's HQ on Protect the Human
• Read Amnesty's reaction to Vedanta's statement on our report
• Find out more about our work on corporate accountability

Background information

Sterlite Industries India Limited, a subsidiary company of the UK-based Vedanta Resources PLC along with the Orissa state government’s Mining Corporation have sought permission from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to mine for bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills. If allowed to proceed, the mining activity could violate the human rights of the Dongria Kondh community. For centuries, the 8000-strong Dongria Kondh community has regarded the Niyamgiri Hills as sacred and central to their identity. The hills are also a source of sustenance and livelihood as the Dongria Kondh practice hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation on the hill slopes. The Dongria Kondh oppose mining in the Niyamgiri Hills as it not only threatens their traditional way of life but also impacts their livelihood and water sources. During a visit to the Niyamgiri Hills in March 2009, Amnesty International found evidence to suggest that the proposed mine could pose a serious threat to the Dongria Kondh’s rights to traditional lands, water, food, health, including a healthy environment, and work.

Additionally, in Lanjigarh, at the foot of the Niyamgiri Hills, the Majhi Kondh and other marginalised communities risk human rights violations if Vedanta Aluminium Limited, another subsidiary company of Vedanta Resources, is permitted to proceed with the six-fold expansion of its existing alumina refinery operations.  Vedanta’s current refinery, located in the catchment area of the river Vamsadhara, began operations in 2006. Since then there have been periodic reports of human rights violations and environmental damage associated with the refinery’s construction and operation. The Orissa Pollution Control Board has also documented numerous failures on the part of the company to adequately manage waste disposal from the refinery. During a visit to Lanjigarh in March 2009, Amnesty International documented violations of the rights to water and health including the right to a healthy environment.

More than 800 families of the Majhi Kondh community along with other marginalised groups in Lanjigarh, risk the compulsory acquisition of their farmlands if the Ministry allows the proposed refinery expansion.

Processes to assess the impact of both the mining operation and refinery expansion on local communities have been wholly inadequate, and both the state and national governments have failed to respect and protect the human rights of communities as required under international human rights law. Vedanta Resources and its subsidiary companies have ignored community concerns, flouted state and national regulatory frameworks and failed to adhere to accepted international standards and principles in relation to the human rights impact of business. Final clearance from the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests is now required before mining can begin. Environmental clearance for the expansion of the refinery is also pending with the Ministry.

This action is now closed. Thank you to all those who have taken this action. For more updates on our campaign on Vedanta and corporate abuse, please visit www.amnesty.org.uk/vedanta

Background to this action

UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources is threatening the human rights of indigenous communities in the Indian state of Orissa. The company is planning to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills and expand its alumina refinery at the foot of the Hills, in Lanjigarh.

Processes to assess the human rights and environmental impact of the proposed projects have been wholly inadequate. The Indian government has so far failed to respect and protect the human rights of communities, particularly the rights to traditional lands, water, food, health, including a healthy environment, and work.

Update: 28 July 2010
Over 30,000 people from around the world signed an Amnesty petition calling on Vedanta to respect the rights of local communities in Orissa. The petition was handed in at the company's AGM in London. Read more

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