In February 2023, Vedanta was declared the preferred bidder for the Sijimali bauxite block in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha. The Sijimali hills, where the mining for bauxite is planned, are considered sacred by indigenous communities residing in the region. The project also includes forest land, on which community people depend for their livelihood. Communities across the region have opposed the mining project, which covers an area of 1549.022 hectares of Sijimali hills, estimated to have 311 million tons of bauxite.

"We take our cows for grazing on the hill. The forests provide us our daily food, wood, other minor produce that we sell and even medicine for use. That apart, these hills are revered by us, they are our God. How can we just let any company come and uproot us and destroy everything?" asked Hiramal Majhi, a native of Shagabari village.

Over the past year, Mhythri Infrastructure, which has been awarded the contract for mining at the Sijimali bauxite block in Odisha, has faced intense protests. The villagers have alleged that the public hearings held so far were forcibly done with police coercion and that no villager has agreed to give away any piece of land from the hill.

"There has not been prior consultation with the villagers before the hills were leased out. There is a dense population of Indigenous community here and as per law, under the Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA), private mining in Schedule V areas cannot be allowed without prior discussion and consent by the Gram Sabhas. All of these statutory requirements were ignored," said Lingraj Azad, leader, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti.

The villagers further alleged that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report, which was made public in September 2023, undercounts the number of water sources which will be impacted due to the mining project, apart from overlooking the cultural significance of the hill as the sacred abode of their deity Tijimali.

Four villages in the Niyamgiri foothills boycotted the Lok Sabha elections 2024 over police actions and mining projects. LCW reached out to Vedanta for a comment but received no response. While protests continued, local media reported that the district administration had successfully conducted Gram Sabhas across 10 villages on 8 December 2023 and received unanimous approval. However, the villages later disputed this claim.

"There was no Gram Sabha, and no one in the village attended it. Only the women were in the village, and they told us that the police had brought people from Kashipur who were holding posters. Police and officials clicked photographs and videos," said Pabitra Naik, a villager, as reported. 

Discrepancies emerged in 2024 after activists obtained Gram Sabha resolutions through the RTI Act. The documents included signatures of villagers, including minors, deceased persons, and individuals who never lived in the villages. Despite this, Vedanta Limited resubmitted its clearance proposal to the central government in June 2024 based on these resolutions. In response, between 30 August and 4 September 2024, 10 villages passed resolutions stating no Gram Sabha took place on 8 December, calling the alleged meetings fraudulent.

In February 2025, two Gram Panchayats filed a petition in the Odisha HC seeking to quash the Gram Sabha resolutions and FRA compliance certificates issued to Vedanta by district authorities. The court disposed of the writ petition in March 2025, reiterating the applicability of rights under the FRA and directing the Union government to take note.

A month later, without convening a new Gram Sabha or addressing the concerns of the villagers, the Odisha government and Vedanta submitted a proposal to divert 708 hectares of forest land to the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) established by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The state government submitted reports claiming, “The process has been completed fairly and transparently.”

The FAC raised concerns over the reports being silent on the matters raised by the people in their representations and in the petition before the High Court (HC).” It also interrogated the State government’s claim that there is “no endangered or rare” wildlife in the area. As a result, it deferred its decision citing unresolved issues over community consent, compensatory afforestation and ecological risks.

On 2 December 2025, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) recommended Stage-I in-principle approval for the diversion. On 31 December 2025, while granting the stage-I approval, the Centre mandated the condition that the State government must ensure complete compliance with the provisions of the FRA.

Earlier on 5 June 2025, 24 activists including Medha Patkar, were stopped at Rayagada Railway Station and were barred from entering the district where they were scheduled to address a public meeting on World Environment Day in Sunger of Kashipur block. They were banned from entering, for 2 months, citing, ‘urgent need to prevent danger to public peace and tranquillity.’ The matter was later taken to Orissa HC, which granted an interim relief to the activists ordering no coercive measures against them until the next hearing. 

Later in July 2025, the Odisha HC quashed the prohibitory order, stating that the administration overreacted by branding a peaceful protestor as an immediate and grave threat of violence or public disorder without material evidence. It added that the situation could have been with less intrusive means, without curtailing the petitioner’s fundamental right to movement under Article 19(1)(d).

Again on 8 August 2025, seven activists and two organisations, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti and Maa Mati Mali Suraksha Manch were barred from entering five villages in Rayagada from 8–10 August during the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, citing potential public disorder as the Odisha Chief Minister was scheduled to visit.

On 15 December 2025, about 130 legal professionals and law students from across India urged the Odisha government to urgently intervene to stop state repression against protesting villagers and halt illegal administrative actions.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, in its report on the “Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in LARR Act, 2013,” also raised concerns over ongoing violations such as land undervaluation, coerced or manufactured Gram Sabha consent, FRA violations, and EIA and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) processes conducted only as formalities, particularly in Scheduled Areas. It also noted expert submissions from Odisha regarding fake Gram Sabhas in Rayagada and Kalahandi.

Tension escalated on 6 April 2026 when tribals gathered in large numbers to block the construction work. A day later, villagers alleged that police force entered homes, fired tear gas and began assaulting the residents. Over 100 people were allegedly injured in violence that broke out between police and local communities near the site of the proposed road. The Police, however, claimed that the team had entered Kantamal to execute a non-bailable warrant against Subash Singh Majhi, a community leader who is wanted in 14 criminal cases. They alleged that they were attacked with stones, lathis, and other weapons.

Amid the heightened tension, the Rayagada SP told the New Indian Express that the district administration is talking to the villagers to find a solution. 

Meanwhile, the Railways ministry on 21 April 2026 approved the construction of a dedicated railway line connecting the Sijimali and Kutrumali mines to Tikiri station.