Towards Excellence

(ISSN No. 0974-035X)
(An indexed refereed & peer-reviewed journal of higher education)
UGC-MALAVIYA MISSION TEACHER TRAINING CENTRE GUJARAT UNIVERSITY

IMPACT OF MINING ON TRIBAL LIVELIHOOD: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF KEONJHAR AND KALAHANDI DISTRICTS

Authors:

Ramakrushna Pradhan, Sudarsan Das

Abstract:

Keonjhar and Kalahandi districts fall under the purview of the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution which entitles ownership right to tribal over their natural resources. It also ensures tribal rights to maintain their unique culture and language.  In the Keonjhar district, mining has been carried out with remarkable speed for the longest period of time.  It has been contributing immensely to the state's mineral output. But the district remained one of the poorest regions in Odisha and has maximum people living under high BPL (below the poverty line). Still, there have been no successful antimining protests taking place here. On the other hand, the Kalahandi district witnessed an organised successful protest by the Kondh tribes in opposing the Vedanta plan of extracting minerals from Niyamagiri mountain. The comparison is an attempt to explore diverse linkages of the impact of mining on tribal livelihood.

Keywords:

Mining, Culture, Livelihood, Protest, Keonjhar and Kalahandi

Vol & Issue:

VOL.14, ISSUE No.1, March 2022