Locals in India’s Odisha allege forgery behind land taken for Adani mine

What the report says

Villagers in Balda and Bannur, in India’s eastern Odisha state, are accusing local officials and a mine-linked process of using forged signatures and thumbprints to show consent for land diversion to a bauxite project tied to Adani Enterprises’ subsidiary, Kalinga Alumina Limited. According to Al Jazeera, the disputed land is part of forest and hill terrain in tribal-dominated Koraput district, where many residents say they oppose the mine and did not approve it.

The article reports that government documents claim all 580 adults in the two villages agreed to the project after council meetings held on October 9 last year. Villagers, however, say attendance was far lower than required, and elected village heads described the meetings as invalid. Several residents told Al Jazeera they found their names, thumb impressions or handwriting on consent papers despite not attending the meetings, while others said deceased relatives were listed as signatories.

Al Jazeera says it reviewed village records, photographed meeting attendance and interviewed more than 20 people. The reporting also notes that some names could not be traced, and that one document appeared to contain multiple entries in the same handwriting. The Adani group and local officials did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment, according to the article.

The dispute matters because Indian law gives tribal communities specific rights over traditional land, and valid diversion of such land typically requires proper village approval. More broadly, the case highlights long-running tensions in India between mining expansion, Indigenous land rights and the role of local administration in approving resource projects.