Yesterday I’d posted this Chitrangada Choudhury report on the systematic way the Odisha government and its various arms had resorted to forgery to manufacture tribal content.
Today, this: The Odisha government argues that the consent of tribals is not even needed.
The Odisha government has challenged the landmark Vedanta bauxite mine judgement of the Supreme Court which upheld the statutory powers of the tribal village councils under the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Area) Act to decide if they wish mining to take place in their traditional forestlands or not.
Filing a new interlocutory application before the apex court, Odisha government has claimed that the Forest Rights Act and its rules do not require any consent from gram sabha (village councils) for use of forestlands if the government decides that the rights of the people have been settled.
