Niyamgiri Hills:
Recent calls to revive bauxite mining in Odisha’s Niyamgiri Hills have renewed concerns among tribal groups and environmental activists over indigenous rights and ecological protection.
- Niyamgiri is a forested hill range of the Eastern Ghats, spread across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha, with elevations of roughly 700–1,400 metres.
- The hills are home to the Dongria Kondh, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) that depends on the forests, streams and traditional agriculture for its livelihood.
- The Dongria Kondh regard Niyamgiri as the abode of their supreme deity Niyam Raja, making the hills central to their cultural and religious identity.
- Niyamgiri supports rich biodiversity, perennial streams, forests and climate-resilient agro-ecosystems and performs important functions such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and regulation of local climate.
- It supports river systems including the Vamsadhara (Bansadhara) and Nagavali and has wider ecological significance.
- It hosts a rich variety of wildlife, including the leopards, sloth bears, and giant squirrels.
- In 2013, following the Supreme Court’s direction, 12 Gram Sabhas in Rayagada and Kalahandi unanimously rejected the proposed mining project, making Niyamgiri a landmark case in the recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006-based community, cultural and religious rights.
