NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Supreme Court postponed a hearing until July 25 over whether Britain's Vedanta Resources Plc can mine bauxite in sacred hills in Orissa where tribal people strongly oppose it, court officials said.
"We will hear exclusively the Vedanta matter on July 25," a statement from the Supreme Court said. The hearing has been scheduled for Friday.
Vedanta wants to dig open-cast mines in the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa to feed an alumina refinery it has already built in the area as part of an $800 million project.
The Dongria Kondh tribe says the mine will destroy hills they consider sacred, force them from their homes and destroy their forest-dependent livelihoods.
The state and central government both back the mining plan, as part of efforts to industrialise and exploit the mineral resources of underdeveloped eastern India.
Source: Reuters
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