After four years of tracking the conflict between Vedanta Resources and the Dongria Kondh tribe about mining bauxite from the sacred Niyamgiri Hills I am glad to report that the Supreme Court has rejected the Appeal by Orissa Mining Corporation.

In essence the tribe is to have the decisive say in whether any mining goes ahead and the Court has recognised the tribe’s religious rights.  Evidence must be put before the Gram Sabha or the local authority, which must reach a decision within three months.  As some form of protection the court has directed that the proceedings be attended by a judicial officer with the rank of District Judge. On the face of it this is a landmark victory for tribal people here and elsewhere as Amnesty asserts.  For a balanced summary I commend the news item at Survival International.

There is big money at stake here and sceptics like me will be concerned that there is plenty of scope for coercion, extortion, perjury, bribery even murder.  It is important that the spotlight remains on the next stages to ensure that there is an untainted conclusion.