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New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Former bureaucrat N C Saxena, head of a panel looking into allegations of forest rights violation at a bauxite mining site in Niyamgiri in Orissa, was today prevented from meeting tribals there, local NGOs have claimed. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said, "I have been informed by NGOs that every effort was being made to prevent Saxena from meeting locals," including tribals residing in the forest where bauxite mining is planned under a joint venture of Orissa Mining Corporation and Sterlite Industry of Vedanta group. Ramesh was replying to a query on the sidelines of a function here. However, when contacted, Mukesh Kumar, chief operation officer of Vedanta Aluminium at Lanjigarh in Niyamgiri, refuted the allegations saying that Saxena is yet to reach the site. "He will be reaching here tomorrow afternoon as per our information," Kumar said. Headed by Saxena, a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi, the panel was formed last week by Ramesh to examine issues of settlement of rights of forest dwellers, particularly of the Dongaria Kondhs, a notified primitive tribal group residing in the area. It was also asked to investigate into the impact of the project on wildlife and biodiversity in the surrounding areas. The other members of the panel are S Parasuraman, director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Promode Kant and Amita Baviskar, associate professors of Institute of Economic Growth. On the need to set up yet another panel, the Union Minister said that the team has been asked to give an integrated report and look into all aspects, including alleged violation of environmental clearances and allotment of 660 hectares of forest land in Kalahandi and Rayagad. "The previous panel (set up in January) had given contradictory reports, hence this committee, which will submit its report by the end of this month," Ramesh said. The earlier panel had accused the Orissa Mining Corporation and Vedanta of infringing the rights of the tribal population of Lanjigarh at the bauxite mining project. The report had also said the promoters of the project had violated the Forest Rights Act and started work without obtaining necessary government clearances.
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