The district judges of Rayagada and Kalahandi will act as observers for the gram sabha that will take a decision on the fate of the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project of Vedanta Resources. "The Orissa High Court has informed the state government that the judges of the two districts under which the Niyamgiri hill area comes will be observers for the gram sabha,” said state SC & ST secretary Santosh Sarangi. The judges will ensure that the gram sabha is conducted in a free and fair manner as directed by the Supreme Court. They will sign the proceedings of the minutes of the gram sabha, he added. The state government has identified 12 villages, seven in Rayagada district and five in Kalahandi district, where the gram sabha would be conducted. It was after the ministry of environment & forests (MoEF) rejected Stage II clearance for the Niyamgiri mining project that the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) — which is proposing to mine bauxite with Sterlite Industries for Vedanta’s one-million-tonne refinery at Lanjigarh — moved the Supreme Court challenging the MoEF's decision. The court, however, directed that the gram sabha will take a decision on the issue and directed the state and the central government to assist the gram sabha in entitling the claims of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act. “The gram sabha will take a decision on the issue within three months and communicate the decision to the MoEF through the state government. Based on the sabha's decision, the MoEF will take a final decision on bauxite mining in Niyamgiri,” the apex court observed while delivering its order on April 18 this year. Vedanta Aluminium shut down its plant on December 5, 2012, for want of bauxite. The plant's fate is now linked with the gram sabha's decision.