The case of Vedanta is one such case that has had great impacts on the environment in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa and the setting up of a mine would have violated the principles of environment protection and degraded the environment. An agreement was signed in 2004 between Vedanta Aluminium Limited(Val) and theOrissa Mining Operation (OMC). The agreement conferred on the opening of an aluminium mine that would produce bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa. The purpose of the setting of the mine and the refinery was for the mining development and the proposed mining lease included a scheme for extracting bauxite from the Niyamgiri Hills. The setting up of the mine and its refinery would lead to the development of the region but the area chosen for conducting the proposed plan would lead to adverse effects on the environment and the sustainable living of the tribal communities.
Violation of the laws
Violation of Schedule V
Violation of Article 21
Article 21 of the Consitution of India states that the citizens should be guaranteed life and personal liberty and there should not be any discrimination based on the caste and scheduled tribes. The Article has been widely interpreted and also includes the right to livelihood, right to shelter, right to a clean environment, and right to water within its ambit. The construction of the roads and other activities violated the basic fundamental rights of the tribal communities as they were deprived of their livelihood and shelter.
Violation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006
The Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Rights Act, 2006 was introduced to recognize the rights of the tribal communities and the forest dwellers regarding land, and other necessities of life that they are mostly dependent on in terms of livelihood, habitat, and other socio-cultural needs.
Violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 was passed by the Parliament under Article 252 of the Constitution and one of the aims included that the protection should be provided to the endangered species regardless of their location and areas.
Violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980
The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 was passed for the companies to check deforestation that had caused ecological imbalance and thus led to environmental deterioration. Section 2 of the Act stated that the forest land cannot be used for non-forest purposes i.e., if the forest land is declared as a reserved forest or that the ministry and the central government has given permission to use that land for non-forest purposes or that any land should not be used without the approval of the government.
The Supreme Court verdict
Section 3 of the Forest Conservation Act gives the power to the central government to constitute committees for the conservation of forests when and where required The applications were filed by social organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other environmentalists before the Central Empowered Committee stating that the setting of the mine was against the laws. The supreme court in 2005 directed the committee to investigate the matters and seek reports on the validity of the environmental clearance granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
The committee investigated and conducted meetings with the Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Vedanta accepted that the setting up of the mine involved the use of the forest land. The committee thereby asked the ministry to issue ‘stop orders’ on the setting up of the mining operations and consequently submitted its reports to the Supreme Court stating that the acts of the Vedanta violated the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act,1980
The Supreme Court thereby passed the orders under Section 4 of the Forest Conservation Act to terminate the mining project and also proposed the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to administer development through consultation and to develop rehabilitation packages for the Niyamgiri mine project.
Company’s appeal to the orders
The Vedanta Aluminium Limited was against the decisions and the investigations of the Central empowered committee and filed a statement of appeal in the Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court thereby on the statement passed an order that the forest can be used for the mining project for sustainable development, but the protection of the environment should not be compromised.