Skip to main content

Green Nobel goes to Odisha's tribal rights leader Samantara for "ousting" UK-based MNC Vedanta from Niyamigiri

By A Representative
Top tribal rights activist Prafulla Samantara has received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for committing his life in the 12-year-long battle for Odisha’s indigenous Dongria Kondh people against land acquisition sought by UK-based MNC Vedanta in Niyamgiri Hills, where it had planned massive open-pit aluminium ore mine.
Also called Green Nobel, the Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions – Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America.
Instituted by the Goldman Environmental Foundation, headquartered in San Francisco, the prize includes a no-strings-attached award of US$175,000 per recipient. Samantara has received the award for the Asian region for 2017.
A close associate of well-known anti-Narmada dam social activist Medha Patkar, Samantara is national convener of the National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM), founded as the apex body of mass organizations across the country by her.
Closely associated with the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, the grassroots organization which fought for the Dongria Kondhs struggle for land, Samantara, 65, as leader of the Lokshakti Abhiyan, Odisha, launched struggle against the MNC, which had sought to invest in mining, building a steel plant, a captive power plant and a port.
Also undertaking satyagraha, hunger fasts, padyatras, and rallies against the building of dams and barrages, quite like Patkar, in the upper stream of river Mahanadi, Goldman Environmental Foundation has termed Samantara “an iconic leader of social justice movements in India.”
Calling the Niyamgiri Hills as “incredible biodiversity” with “thick forestlands”, and home to the “endangered Bengal tiger and serve as an important migration corridor for elephants”, the Foundation has said, “The hills are also of vital importance to the Dongria Kondh, an 8,000-member indigenous tribe with deep ties to the surrounding environment.”
The Foundation notes, “In October 2004, the Odisha State Mining Company signed an agreement with Vedanta to mine bauxite, an aluminum ore, in the Niyamgiri Hills. The massive, open-pit mine would destroy 1,660 acres of untouched forestland in order to extract more than 70 million tons of bauxite, polluting critical water sources in the process.”
Says the Foundation, it is against this backdrop that Samantara, who comes from a humble family, highlighted how the project would be “environmentally destructive”, even as opposing the public hearing for the project, as it “would not be accessible to the isolated Dongria Kondh, who do not understand English or have access to computers.”
“Samantara alerted the Dongria Kondh that their land had been given away”, says the Foundation, adding, “He went from village to village to meet with local communities, sometimes walking or biking through remote routes to avoid mining supporters.”
“Through peaceful rallies and marches, he organized the Dongria Kondh to maintain a strong presence in the hills to keep the mine from moving forward”, the Foundation says, adding, “Meanwhile, Samantara filed a petition with the Supreme Court’s panel governing mining activities, becoming the first citizen to use the legal system in an attempt to halt the Vedanta mine.”
“Almost a decade after Samantara’s initial filing, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision on April 18, 2013. The court’s ruling empowered local communities to have the final say in mining projects on their land, and gave village councils from the Niyamgiri Hills the right to vote on the Vedanta mine”, the Foundation notes.
“By August 2013, all 12 tribal village councils had unanimously voted against the mine. In August 2015, after years of partial operation and stoppages, Vedanta announced the closure of an aluminum refinery it had preemptively built in anticipation of the mine’s opening”, it adds.

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Overriding India's constitutional sovereignty? Citizens urge PM to reject WHO IHR amendments

By A Representative   A group of concerned Indian citizens, including medical professionals and activists, has sent an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to reject proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) before the ratification deadline of July 19, 2025. 

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

Activists allege abduction and torture by Delhi Police Special Cell in missing person probe

By A Representative   A press statement released today by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) alleges that several student and social activists have been abducted, illegally detained, and subjected to torture by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The CASR claims these actions are linked to an investigation into the disappearance of Vallika Varshri, an editorial team member of 'Nazariya' magazine.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.