Odisha government has been eyeing its bauxite reserves for years. It had one key hurdle. The forests sitting atop the coveted bauxite blocks. Our investigation shows how the state and the National Wildlife Board worked together to open protected areas for mining.
Odisha said it will cut down forests to connect tribal villages. The Reporters’ Collective found it was a way to bypass green laws and fast track Vedanta’s mining plans.
Odisha sits on over 40 percent of India’s bauxite deposits. Getting access to that ore has meant getting through dense forests, wildlife sanctuaries, and the laws meant to protect them. This two-part investigation by Ayushi Kar documents how the state did it — rewriting the boundaries of the Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary with help from India’s top wildlife body, and then helping mining conglomerate Vedanta split a single project into two to dodge stricter forest clearance rules. At every step, the state dressed up its mining ambitions as conservation, public infrastructure, and the greater good.
We just survived a finanical crisis.
We need 1,000 regular donors to sustain.
