Why it is in the news
On 26 September 2026, after meeting Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at the State secretariat in Bhubaneswar, Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal said “Niyamgiri would be reopened immediately” — the bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills shelved in 2013 after resistance from the Dongria Kondh, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). He said the company had been told “all the necessary permissions currently required will be granted”, and committed ₹1 lakh crore of investment in aluminium smelters, refineries and power plants in the State.
The exam angle
Issue: Can a State and an investor reopen a mining project that the affected Gram Sabhas unanimously rejected, and what does the answer say about whether forest-dweller consent in India is a right or a formality?