E-Paper
Vedanta gets key clearance for Sijimali mine access road in Odisha
The approval marks a significant step towards operationalising the Vedanta-linked mining project, even as it remains embroiled in legal challenges.
The Odisha government has cleared the construction of a 3.4-km access road to the proposed Sijimali bauxite mines in Rayagada district of Odisha after the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) granted Stage-II, or final, forest clearance for diversion of forest land linked to the project.
The approval marks a significant step towards operationalising the Vedanta-linked mining project, even as it remains embroiled in legal challenges and local opposition from tribal communities.
The road, regarded as the first major physical infrastructure required for the mine, has been at the centre of a prolonged conflict between the state administration and local tribal residents. Tensions culminated in violent clashes on April 7, in which 70 people, including 58 police personnel, were injured.
State forest department officials said the proposed road, connecting the Sijimali Bauxite Mines hilltop to State Highway-44 (SH-44) in Kashipur tehsil, received final approval under Section 2(1)(ii) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, on May 5.
Following the clearance, the state government issued an order permitting diversion of 4.911 hectares of forest land in favour of the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), which had sought permission as the implementing agency.
The 3.4-km road to the mineral block leased to the Vedanta Group has emerged as one of the most contentious elements of the Sijimali mining project. It is expected to link the hilltop mining area with SH-44 and further connect it to a nearby railway siding, enabling transportation of bauxite extracted from the lease area. Officials consider the road essential for making the mine operational.
In its order granting Stage-II clearance, the MoEFCC directed the Odisha government to undertake compensatory afforestation over 6.07 hectares of non-forest land within two years. The ministry had earlier granted Stage-I, or in-principle, approval for diversion of the forest land in January 2026.
However, the final approval carries a significant caveat. The ministry said the validity and continued operation of the Stage-II forest clearance would remain subject to the outcome of two petitions pending before the Eastern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Kolkata. The appeals, filed by tribal activist Munidei Majhi and others, challenge various aspects of forest diversion and approvals connected to the Sijimali mining project.
The state forest department had earlier argued before the ministry that the road should not be treated as a component of the mining project but as public infrastructure serving a mining area. According to the state government, ownership of the road will eventually be transferred to the public works department.
The proposal underwent substantial changes during the approval process. Earlier project documents envisaged a 7.5-km road as part of Vedanta’s mining plan. By December 2025, however, when the company submitted its final environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, the alignment had been significantly altered and the proposed length reduced to 3.4 km.
Vedanta, which secured the Sijimali block through an auction in March 2023, plans to extract nearly 9 million tonnes of bauxite annually to partly feed its 6-million-tonne-per-annum alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district. The project seeks to tap an estimated 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite reserves spread across 1,549 hectares and involves diversion of 709.72 hectares of forest land.
The lease area covers Thuamul Rampur and Kashipur tehsils across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts and affects 18 villages. The ministry’s forest advisory committee had already granted Stage-I forest clearance for the larger mining lease in December 2025, while the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on non-coal mining recommended environmental clearance for the project during its meeting on May 15.
The project nevertheless remains tied up in multiple legal proceedings. A dispute over the Sijimali mining lease is pending before the Supreme Court, where Larsen & Toubro has challenged an Orissa High Court order rejecting its claim to the mining block. Vedanta has since been impleaded in the matter.
At the same time, local Kandha and Paraja tribal communities have continued to oppose the project, contending that mining activity threatens customary forest rights, livelihoods dependent on minor forest produce and sacred hilltop sites central to their cultural and religious identity.
The proposed mine is expected to displace 129 families — 51 from Tijimali village and 78 from Malipadar. Official documents state that land for rehabilitation colonies has been identified at Kurkuti and Chandgiri.
