Adani Mine Project Rocked by Allegations of Forged Signatures and Disenfranchised Villagers in Odisha

In the tribal-dominated Koraput district of Odisha, India, villagers are raising serious allegations of forgery and fraud concerning a proposed bauxite mine development by Kalinga Alumina Limited, a subsidiary of Gautam Adani's Adani Enterprises Limited. Raghunath Khara, a shopkeeper from Balda village, discovered his thumb impression on a document purportedly granting consent for the $24 million project, which is set to impact the pristine forest land of Balda Hill. Khara vehemently denies giving this impression, stating, “I always sign in English. It was someone else’s thumb.”

Hundreds of individuals from Indigenous tribes in Balda and the neighboring Bannur village claim their lands have been acquired through fraudulent means. The project, backed by Adani Enterprises, owned by India's second-richest businessman and a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, threatens to consume a significant portion of Balda Hill, a site considered sacred by at least 10 surrounding tribal villages due to its forests, grasslands, and caves.

Allegations suggest that purported signatures and thumb impressions of nearly 600 tribals were collected during village council meetings held on October 9 last year. However, Khara asserts he was protesting the mine with other villagers about 100 meters away from the Balda village council office during the meeting. “It [thumb impression] was fake. We didn’t attend the village meeting at all. We were all busy protesting outside,” he told Al Jazeera.

Indian constitutional law recognizes the rights of Indigenous communities over their traditional lands, requiring mandatory village council resolutions for any diversion of such lands. A valid resolution requires the written consent of 50 percent of the village's adult population. Government documents claim that all 580 adults from Balda and Bannur agreed to the land transfer. However, elected village heads from both villages have denied that signatures were collected and declared the meetings invalid. Photographs from the meetings show an attendance of around 100 people, far below the required quorum.

Villagers further allege that most signatures on the resolution documents are fake, forged, or impersonated. Some claim their signatures from previous, unrelated meetings were fraudulently used, and that documents contain names of fictitious individuals and even those who have died years prior. Al Jazeera’s attempts to get responses from the Adani group, its communications chief, and senior district officials in Koraput, including the district magistrate Manoj Satyawan Mahajan and Superintendent of Police Rohit Varma, have not yielded any replies.

Rama Hantal, a 60-year-old paralyzed man from Balda, also found his name on the consent document. His daughter-in-law, Chandrama Hantal, stated, “There is no chance he could have attended the meeting or even signed.” She also denied attending the meeting herself, noting a thumb impression next to her name despite her usual practice of signing in Odia.

Madhav Kuntili, a farmer from Bannur, recounted being presented with a document during a meeting where promises of roads, jobs, and amenities were made. He refused to sign when informed about the forest diversion but claims the paper was taken from him. Sunadhar Muduli, a farmer from Bannur, admitted to filling in names and placing thumb impressions on a registry provided by Ramnath Pungi, a contract worker for the local revenue office, under the pretext of land recognition. Pungi later confirmed to Al Jazeera that the signatures were collected for a different purpose and that he was paid to submit land settlement documents, unaware they would be used for the Adani project.

The announcement of the Gram Sabha meetings also appears to have been rushed, with notices reportedly posted only a day before the scheduled dates, contrary to official guidelines requiring two weeks' notice. This hurried process, coupled with the alleged forgeries, has led villagers and activists to describe the mining approval as “abnormally rushed.”

Despite widespread opposition voiced during a mandatory public hearing on March 6, 2025, environmental clearance was granted. Community rights claims over forest land, which overlapped with the mining lease area, were settled in January without informing village councils and with appeals committees affirming decisions within three days, allegedly without allowing villagers time to appeal. Ajaya Muduli, representing the affected villages, stated the land acquisition process was “abnormally rushed” and a tactic to force the mines without consent.

Following the October 9 meetings, villagers alerted local authorities about the hurried nature and invalidity of the meetings. However, the allegedly forged resolutions were added to the official file by October 15 and made public on the environment ministry’s website on February 11. Over 50 individuals have issued sworn affidavits declaring their non-attendance and alleging forgery. Petitions and complaints have been filed with courts, district authorities, and the police.

In March, 10 affected villages rejected the previous resolutions and reiterated their opposition. Despite these efforts, on May 7, all necessary approvals were granted to Kalinga Alumina Limited, and the forest land was handed over for the 50-year lease of the bauxite mining project. No compensation has been promised to the villagers.

Arpitha Kodiveri, an assistant professor at Vassar College, highlighted that bypassing landowner consent sets a dangerous precedent for illegal administrative practices. She noted that such irregularities could provide grounds to challenge government clearances and called for clearer consequences for fraudulent consent practices. Land Conflict Watch has documented at least 28 instances of consent-related conflicts in India since 2003, involving allegations of forgery and forceful land acquisition. A 2024 report by India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) revealed 136 consent violations in mining and other projects.

Similar allegations of forged consents and meetings have surfaced in other mining projects, such as the Vedanta Resources bauxite mine in Sijimali, where villagers also denied consent despite official documents claiming otherwise. Shomona Khanna, a Supreme Court lawyer, stated that forest clearance without Gram Sabha consent is illegal and constitutes a crime under Indian law.

The villagers in Balda fear that the mining project will destroy their livelihoods, dry up essential water sources, and desecrate sacred sites linked to their animist faith. Raghunath Hanthal, a priest in Balda, whose name also appears on the official document, stated, “I did not even go to the meeting. We were here, protesting that day.” He warned that taking away their forests would not only destroy their livelihood but also incur the wrath of their goddess.