India backs tribes in mining ruling

India struck down a controversial mining project Tuesday that threatened a tribal group whose fate had been compared with the plight of the endangered Na'vi aliens in the blockbuster Avatar.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh rejected the proposal by British-based multinational resource giant Vedanta, owned by Indian businessman Anil Agarwal, to build an open-cast bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills in the eastern state of Orissa.
The 8,000-strong Dongria Kondh tribespeople believe the remote hills are the home of their God, Niyam Raja, and rely on the land for their crops and livelihood.
Survival International, which fights for tribal groups, has run a successful public relations campaign likening the plight of the Dongria Kondh to the fictional Na'vi tribe in the record-breaking James Cameron film Avatar. In the movie, the Na'vi are desperately trying to stop humans from mining under their sacred "home tree" on their planet Pandora.
Ramesh told reporters that clearance for the project had been refused, in line with a recommendation by a ministry advisory panel, because of the need to protect the tribe and because of past violations by Vedanta.
London-listed Vedanta, whose shares plummeted more than five percent on Tuesday, wanted the mine in Orissa in order to secure a supply of bauxite for a nearby aluminium refinery.
The proposed 125-billion-rupee (2.7-billion-dollar) investment has emerged as a test case in India, pitting industrial development interests against those of indigenous peoples and the environment.
Groups fighting for the Dongria Kondh were delighted by the news, while the local state administration, which lobbied hard for the deal to go through, expressed disappointment.
Vedanta argues that the mine, which has been mired in controversy since 2005, would cause minimum disturbance to the remote hills and that mined areas would be planted with trees once the bauxite was extracted.
The company rejected allegations of any wrongdoing. In a statement, Ramesh referred to the "shocking" and "blatant disregard" shown by Vedanta for protected tribal groups. He added that there had been "very serious" violations of the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Forest Rights Act by the company.