BharatNotes Niyamgiri Judgment (2013)
Supreme Court ruling (Orissa Mining Corporation v. MoEF) requiring gram sabhas of 12 villages in the Niyamgiri hills to decide whether their religious and cultural rights would be violated by a bauxite mining project — effectively giving tribal communities a veto over resource extraction on sacred lands.
Context & Background
Vedanta Resources' mining project in Odisha; Supreme Court held that the Forest Rights Act required free, prior, informed consent through gram sabha before any forest diversion.
UPSC Exam Relevance
Landmark on tribal rights, prior informed consent, and FRA implementation; cited in GS2 questions on tribal rights vs development projects.
