To
Shri V L Kantha Rao
Union Secretary (Mines)
Dear Shri Kantha Rao,I understand that your Ministry has allotted the Dugocha Gold mineral block in Udaipur District in Rajasthan in favour of HZL, in which the Vedanta Group holds the majority share
The Dugocha Gold block is located in Dugocha, Dhariyabad, Salumber, Matasula, Bori, Bara Talav, Kothar, Jarap, Sanjela villages in Salumber Tehsil in Udaipur District in Rajasthan.
Under the The Scheduled Areas (State of Rajasthan) Order, 2018 notified through a Presidential Order under paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, the above area is a part of the notified Fifth Schedule areas of the State. Any allotment of land/ mineral resources in that area attracts the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) which mandates prior consent of the local tribal Gram Sabhas, as opposed to any unilateral decision-making either by the Centre or the State governments. If such consent had not been taken, the auction process would be deemed to be illegal.
Further, I understand that the said tract is located in a notified forest block (https://forest.rajasthan.gov.in/content/dam/raj/forest/ForestDepartment/PDFs/Department%20Wing/Forest%20Development/Districtwise%20Forest%20Blocks%20a%20Google%20Earth/Udaipur.pdf). As such, before taking a decision to take up mining activity, the Centre and the State are required to consult the local tribal Gram Sabhas under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest RightsAct or FRA). If such prior consultation had not been held, the auction process would be prima facie illegal.
In this connection, I refer to the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s judgement pronounced on 18th April, 2013 in a case involving bauxite mining by the same company, the Vedanta Group, in respect of allotment of a mine in the Scheduled Areas of Kalahandi and Rayagada Districts of Orissa, in which the court held the allotment of the mineral block to be illegal as prior consent of the local tribal Gram Sabhas had not been taken as required under PESA and FRA.
I would therefore request your Ministry, in consultation with the Constitutional authority, the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, to rescind the above cited auction and ensure that the provisions of PESA and FRA are strictly complied with.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
