Raghunath Khara was shocked to look at his thumb impression on a piece of paper that declared he had consented to a government proposal to mine his village’s pristine forest land for bauxite.
asserted
he → look → bauxite
He says he never gave that thumb impression.
asserted
he → say → impression
federal judge questions DOJ decision to drop Adani charges
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asserted
it → question → deals
mining boom threatens tribal people
asserted
boom → threaten → people
“I always sign in English.
asserted
I → sign → English
It was someone else’s thumb,” alleged Khara, a shopkeeper in Balda village in the tribal-dominated Koraput district of Odisha state in eastern India.
asserted
Khara → allege → India
Khara is among hundreds of people from Indigenous tribes in Balda and neighbouring Bannur village who have lost their lands to the new bauxite mine.
asserted
who → neighbour → mine
It is being developed by Kalinga Alumina Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, a conglomerate owned by Gautam Adani, India’s second richest businessman and close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
asserted
It → develop → Modi
The $24m project will consume a large chunk of the tabletop Balda Hill – home to forests, grasslands and caves that are considered sacred by at least 10 tribal villages surrounding it.
asserted
that → consume → it
To push the project, the purported signatures and thumb impressions of nearly 600 tribals were allegedly collected during village council meetings in Balda and Bannur held on October 9 last year.
uncertain
signatures → push → October
Khara says he never attended the meeting at Balda and was instead protesting against the proposed mine with his wife, sister and other villagers about 100 metres from the village council office.
asserted
he → say → office
We didn’t attend the village meeting at all.
asserted
We → attend → meeting
We were all busy protesting outside,” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → protest → Jazeera
India’s constitution recognises the rights of Indigenous communities over their traditional lands.
asserted
constitution → recognise → lands
Forest laws and laws granting autonomy to tribal areas dictate that village council resolutions are mandatory for any diversion of such lands for other purposes.
asserted
resolutions → grant → purposes
A resolution passed in a village council meeting is valid only if 50 percent of all the adults in the village consent to it in writing.
asserted
percent → pass → writing
Government documents claim all the 580 adults – 360 in Balda and 227 in Bannur – agreed to give up their land for the Adani mine.
uncertain
adults → claim → mine
But the elected village heads in both villages denied any signatures were collected and called the two meetings “invalid”.
asserted
signatures → elect → meetings
Even photographs taken by villagers at both council meetings show a combined attendance of about 100 people – nearly 40 in Balda and 68 in Bannur – far below the minimum 50 percent quorum required to pass a valid resolution.
asserted
photographs → take → resolution
Moreover, the villagers allege that most signatures on the resolution documents are fake, forged or impersonated.
asserted
signatures → allege → documents
They also claim the documents contain signatures of fictitious persons and even the names of people who died years ago.
uncertain
who → claim → people
Some even said their signatures from a previous, unrelated village council meeting were fraudulently pasted onto the bauxite mine document.
asserted
signatures → say → document
Al Jazeera emailed the Adani group and its communications chief on August 18 seeking responses to the accusations of forgery and fraud.
asserted
Jazeera → email → forgery
Then we followed up with a second request for comments on September 25, but did not receive any response.
asserted
we → follow → response
Al Jazeera also sought responses from Manoj Satyawan Mahajan, the district magistrate — the most senior bureaucrat in Koraput – to the concerns raised by villagers but did not receive a response.
asserted
Jazeera → seek → response
Rohit Varma, the superintendent of police for Koraput district, also did not respond to Al Jazeera’s queries.
asserted
Varma → respond → queries
‘They took the paper away from me’
asserted
They → take → me
Many of those who attended the meetings said they were opposed to the mining project.
asserted
they → attend → project
“We were told that if mining was allowed, the village would get roads, jobs, drainage and water connections and a school built,” said Madhav Kuntili, a farmer in Bannur.
asserted
Kuntili → tell → Bannur
Koraput is one of India’s least developed districts and similar promises often have a significant sway.
asserted
promises → have → sway
Kuntili said a document was passed around, seeking signatures.
asserted
document → say → signatures
“I said if the forest was being diverted, then I would not sign it.
asserted
I → say → it
They took the paper away from me,” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → take → Jazeera
Across Balda and Bannur, Al Jazeera met many villagers who said they were shocked to find their signatures or thumb impressions on the resolution.
asserted
they → meet → resolution
Rama Hantal sat motionless by the doorway of his rusted tin-and-wood hut.
asserted
Hantal → sit → hut
The 60-year-old has been paralysed for several years and is unable to talk.
asserted
old → paralyse → years
“There is no chance he could have attended the meeting or even signed,” said Chandrama Hantal, his daughter-in-law.
uncertain
Hantal → be → law
While Hantal had apparently signed the consent form in Odia, Odisha’s official language, Chandrama saw a thumb impression against her name.
asserted
Chandrama → sign → name
She also denied attending the meeting.
asserted
She → deny → meeting
Among the signatories are three Gurubari Kharas – their purported thumb impressions in support of the mining project.
asserted
Kharas → purport → project
…and 95 more, not listed.
The Aporia
