Qualla: Niyamgiri https://qualla.com/niyamgiri en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Niyamgiri https://qualla.com/niyamgiri Niyamgiri: Introduction https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ In the summer of 2013, twelve village councils in the hills of southwest Odisha were asked a question no Indian court had posed before: should a multinational corporation be allowed to mine your sacred mountain? One by one, all twelve said no. All twelve Palli Sabhas - village assemblies - voted unanimously to reject Vedanta Resources' plan to strip-mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri range. The Supreme Court of India had ordered the referendum, and the verdict of the Dongria Kondh people was final. Niyamgiri still stands, forested and unmined, a place where indigenous rights prevailed over industrial ambition.

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Niyamgiri: Sacred Slopes https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ The Niyamgiri range rises between the Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in Odisha's southwestern corner, its dense forests among the most pristine remaining in India. The Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary borders it to the northwest, and the Kotgarh Wildlife Sanctuary anchors the northe...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-sacred-slopes.mp3 0:06 2 full Niyamgiri: The Corporation Arrives https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ In June 2003, Vedanta Resources signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Odisha to build a one-million-tonne-per-year aluminium refinery and coal-fired power station in Kalahandi district. The bauxite to feed the refinery would come from Niyamgiri's mountain to...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-the-corporation-arrives.mp3 0:06 3 full Niyamgiri: The World Takes Notice https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ Between 2008 and 2009, tribal communities staged protests in Bhubaneswar and across Kalahandi. The story crossed borders. In 2010, the Church of England divested from Vedanta over human rights concerns. Norway's Government Pension Fund followed. An expert committee led by N. C. S...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-the-world-takes-notice.mp3 0:06 4 full Niyamgiri: The People Decide https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ The legal climax came on April 18, 2013, when the Supreme Court issued a landmark order: let the tribal people themselves decide. Through their gram sabhas - village councils empowered under the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act of 1996 - the Dongria Kondh would vote on...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-the-people-decide.mp3 0:06 5 full Niyamgiri: What Remains at Stake https://qualla.com/niyamgiri/ Niyamgiri's victory is celebrated as a precedent for indigenous environmental rights in India, but it is not a permanent settlement. The bauxite remains in the ground, and commercial pressures do not disappear because a court ruled against them. The Saxena committee's report capt...

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]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/g/7/r/niyamgiri-wp/tg7r-niyamgiri-what-remains-at-stake.mp3 0:06 6 full