Tribals to voice against the mountain mining in Dantewada

Dantewada | Correspondent: Over 5,000 villagers from Alnar village in the Gumiyapaal gram panchayat of Dantewada district are gearing up for a major protest on Monday, demanding the cancellation of mountain mining leases.

The tribal community has assembled to voice opposition to Raipur-based private company Aarti Sponge, which, they allege, obtained mining rights for Taral Metta Mountain and Pittod Meta Nandraj Mountain through a fabricated Gram Sabha in 2014.

District officials have confirmed that permission for the rally, expected to include more than 5,000 participants, has been obtained from district headquarters.

The villagers are deeply concerned about environmental degradation and the threat mining poses to their cultural heritage.

Alongside their demand for a thorough investigation into the alleged fraudulent Gram Sabha, tribal leaders have been spreading awareness about the rally, urging maximum community participation.

According to the villagers, mining approvals for Pittod Meta Nandraj Mountain and Taral Metta Mountain were based on forged signatures.

In a report submitted to the government, they detailed alleged forged signatures from 160 villagers at the 2014 Gram Sabha for Nandraj Pahad.

A similar incident was reported in 2019, with claims that only ten individuals signed the approval documents for Taral Pahad in a purportedly fake Gram Sabha meeting held to further the mining project.

Villagers argue that their livelihood depends on these mountains, and that mining would bring irreversible damage to their land and surrounding environment.

Mobilizing across multiple villages, they are rallying community members to join the protest against what they describe as illegal and exploitative mining approvals.

They have also demanded the immediate cancellation of Aarti Sponge’s lease for Alanar Pahad, alleging that the environmental NOC and Gram Sabha approvals for the site were fraudulently obtained.

Villagers report that no mining has begun yet on Alanar Pahad.

The villagers claim that, despite opposition from the Gram Sabha, employees of Dev Mining Company—a subcontractor for Aarti Sponge Company—arrived on June 1, 2024, accompanied by a police force, to demarcate 31.55 acres of land located in Khasra numbers 416, 417, and 418, which had been allocated to Aarti Sponge Company.

“We will not allow the water, forest, and land of Bastar to be looted,” one villager declared, underscoring their commitment to safeguarding their environment.