In a powerful display of unity and resistance, tribal communities from a village in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, have come together to protest against the recent granting of a lease for mountain mining. The communities held a protest rally in Alanar village, Gumiyapal Gram Panchayat, Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, recently against the mining lease for Taral Metta.

The village residents, deeply concerned about the potential environmental degradation and the impact on their cultural heritage, organised a rally and presented a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) intended for the President of India Droupadi Murmu, urging the cancellation of the lease.

“Our livelihoods depend on Taral Metta (mountain),” said Nanda, a resident of Alanar village in the Gumiyapal Gram Panchayat. “If a company mines there, it will destroy our land. This mountain is home to our deities and we will fight tooth and nail to prevent any mining activity.” Many other tribal residents participated in the rally, echoing Nanda's sentiments.

The memorandum detailed the tribals’ concerns and stated that the lease for Taral Metta was awarded to Raipur-based Aarti Sponge And Power Ltd through an allegedly fabricated Gram Sabha meeting held in 2014.

The village residents claimed they only became aware of this lease in 2017 when company officials arrived in the village. They subsequently organised a special Gram Sabha on May 5, 2017, passing a resolution to revoke the lease and submitting a memorandum opposing it through the Tehsildar of the Bade Bacheli area.de

Despite this, suddenly, the company is trying to start the work again. The company, through its contractor for petty work Dev Mining Company, attempted to demarcate the designated 31.55-acre mining area on June 1st, 2024, accompanied by a police force. However, the village residents successfully prevented this demarcation.

Ballu Bhavani, a patron of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj who participated in the rally, spoke out against the exploitation of tribal land. “The Bastar region is rich in minerals,” he said, “The government is constantly manipulating Gram Sabha meetings to plunder these resources on behalf of industrialists. We will not stand for this injustice in Alanar and Aarti Sponge’s fake Gram Sabha lease is just another example we are fighting against. Local residents have been protesting this issue consistently.”

This is not the first instance of fabricated Gram Sabha meetings impacting tribal communities. Bhavani referenced a similar situation in Bailadila Deposit 13, where the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation and NMDC Ltd allegedly acquired a mining lease through a fake Gram Sabha meeting held in the Hiroli Panchayat. This lease was intended for Adani Company, but local residents' protests prompted the state government to investigate the Gram Sabha meeting. Investigations confirmed the meeting's illegality, yet no action has been taken against those involved, nor has the lease been cancelled, said Bhavani.

The rally received additional support from the Joint Panchayat Jan Sangharsh Samiti. Bhima Mandavi, President of the Block Kuakonda Sarpanch Sangh, expressed solidarity with the Alanar community. “All public representatives stand with the people of Alanar,” she declared. “We are prepared to offer them unwavering support whenever a significant movement is required.”

The tribals marched with placards conveying powerful messages like, “Water, forest and land are ours,” “Neither parliament nor state assembly, the highest authority is the Gram Sabha,” and "Stop land grabbing by force!"

Prominent figures present at the rally included Dheeraj Rana (secretary of tribal group Sarv Aadivasi Samaj), Tikanpal Dev Singh Tati (sarpanch of Gumiyapal village), Rewa Mediami (sarpanch of Gumiyapal), Hidma Karma (sarpanch of Kutru), Vimala (sarpanch of Taneli) and ward member Raju Bhaskar.

DTE Coverage: Daily Court Digest (October 31-November 4, 2022)