Thank you dear subscribers, we are overwhelmed with your response.
Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. If not, do subscribe here: https://theprint.in/subscribe/
Just days after violent tribal-police clashes over Vedanta’s neighboring Sijimali project, the Indian government notified Rs. 1,146 crore dedicated rail corridor on April 21 to serve Adani Group’s Kutrumali bauxite mines in Odisha’s Kalahani and Rayagada districts. This 49 km line from Tikiri station, approved under the PPP mode, signals accelerated extraction of 127.7 million tonnes of reserves across 702 hectares. Kalinga Alumina Limited, Adani’s arm, plans 4 MTPA open-cast mining in the Thuamul Rampur and Kashipur tehsils, bulldozing forests that sustain 20,000 adivasis.
The timing reeks of content for democratic dissent. On April 18, Dongria Kondh tribesmen in Rayagada threw stones at survey workers. This led to UAPA charges against 12 teenagers after Niyamgiri beat Vedanta in 2013. But on April 21, the Centre approved the rail, ignoring requests from the Tribal Advisory Council and the FRA’s violations. This isn’t infrastructure; it’s a conveyor belt for corporate loot, with mineral cess paying for it for Indian Railways.
Rail for Ruin: The Infrastructure of Theft
The detailed project report, which came out in July 2022, says that double-tracked rails slice Eastern Ghats biodiversity hotspots, linking Adani Kutrumali to Vedanta’s Sijimali (630 MT reserves). Costing Rs 1,146 crore, it promises “logical efficiency” but delivers dust-choked villages and serves migration routes for elephants from Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary. Environment clearance hearings on April 27 descended into farce: relocated from villages to Phulbani Block HQ under CRPF watch, excluding illiterate tribals without transport. Gram Sabha consent? A forgotten ritual under PESA amendments favoring auctions.
Adani’s Mundra Aluminum refinery, the end user, guzzles 6 MTPA bauxite for aluminum sheets exported to US arms makers amid Gaza escalations. Odisha has the fourth most underdeveloped bauxite in the world, which fuels this chain. After paying royalties, the state gets a small amount of money through 15-year revenue shares. The BJP’s pro-mining leadership, which has been accused of lobby dancing, speeds up leases before the 2026 elections, putting Adivasi votes against corporate slush.
Adivasi Blood in the Bauxite Hills
The jal-jiwi-jangal stream flows through Kutrumali’s plateaus all year round. It waters millets, tendu leaves for ₹200/kg, and mahua flowers for liquor, which support 80% of the local economy. Open-cast pits will scar 702 hectares, take 6 lakh cubic meters of groundwater every day, and dry up more than 50 springs that help Kalahandi’s crops that are prone to famine. Because their habitats are broken up, Karlapat’s tigers and leopards are afraid of going extinct. Siltation will fill up the Balimela reservoir, which powers 360 MW of corporate grids.
Dongria Kondh’s “mountain dwellers,” with 500-year forest bonds, invoke Supreme Court’s 2011 Samatha ruling barring tribal land mining sans consent. Yet, the 2023 auctions bypassed FRA claims—1200 pending since 2008. Women lead protests, recalling Niyamgiri’s goddess Niyan Raja, who halted Vedanta. Five hundred people stayed away from the public hearing on April 27 and threw rocks at officials fleeing in SUVs. Police lobbed tear gas, and three people were hospitalized. Bhawanipatna’s April 28 call for Saheed Rendo Majhi signals siege, signals escalation.
EIA consultants Creative Edge Solution paint a greenwash: Rs 102 lakhs for 1 lakh saplings, dust sprinklers, and “zero liquid discharge.” Reality? Bauxite dust triggers silicosis; red mud lakes poison for generations, as in Sterlite’s Thoothkundi bloodbath. No cumulative impact study for the Sijimali-Kutrumali duo, violating 2011 MoEF guidelines. Karlapat’s notified area encroaches on the least boundaries, yet NGP slumbers.
Neoliberal Script: From Niyamgirir to Kutrumali
India’s extractive playbook says to weaken the FRA by making it possible to get leases after the fact, use “national interest” to justify diversions, and make dissent illegal through the UAPA. Adani, which owns more than 20 blocks in Odisha, is a good example of crony capitalism. PSU bonds paid for its capital expenditure of ₹62,000 crore in FY26. Hindalco bought Vedanta’s Sijimali, which is fighting for exclusive control of half of India’s bauxite output.
Aluminum makes up 2% of GDP and releases 16 kg of CO2 emissions per kg, which makes cyclones in Odisha worse.
According to the Supreme Court, getting rid of Adivasis is like getting rid of 5 crore people since 1947. Adani brings up the Congress’ 2008 POSCO disaster, but the BJP cuts it down. The TAC chairman said that the president promised to help, but thieves find it easier to steal when Delhi is quiet.
Echoes of Niyamgiri
In 2023, TALAAMPADAR held a big rally that drew 10,000 people. Mobilization will start up again in 2026. The Odisha Adivasi Mahasangh wants the lease to be canceled and the FRA to be important.
The vote in Kalahandi is important. The BJP’s sweep in 2024 is being hurt by a backlash against mining, and the BJD is trying to bring Adivasis together. Will the TAC say no or give in? Kutrumali tests India’s neoliberal front of tribalism. As the rails move in, the tribes sharpen their arrows. History favors the hills.
—————————————————————————————————————————–
About the author:
Anusreeta Dutta is a columnist and climate researcher with experience in political
analysis, ESG research, and energy policy.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.