With the tribals of Niyamgiri hilly region in Kalahandi district rejecting the proposal for bauxite mining in the first Gram Sabha held on Thursday last in Rayagada district, the outcome of the second Gram Sabha scheduled on Monday at Kesarpadi village in Rayagada district is eagerly awaited. The district administration has completed all preparations to conduct the gram sabha in the village consisting 16 Dangaria Kondh families. At least 36 voters can attend the village level meeting to present their views on mining. The second Gram Sabha assumes much significance after the first such meeting was against mining at the mineral-rich hills which the Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) had proposed the state government. The reports of the 12 Gram Sabhas will be submitted to the Supreme Court by the collectors of the two districts by the end of August. The apex court had also directed the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to take action in two months after it receives a report from the gram sabhas. The Niyamgiri hilly region spreading across 20 km in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts is mostly inhabited by the tribals. It may be mentioned that the Supreme Court in his ruling on April 18 this year had left the decision on the tribals to decide whether bauxite mining should be allowed at Niyamgiri hills.. Though VAL has recently resumed operations at its Lanjigarh alumina refinery in Kalahandi district after a gap of seven months, the company is hopeful of mining at the hills to run its refinery which was shut in December last year due to lack of mineral supply. The MoU signed by the Vedanta Group with the state government in 2004, includes supply of 78 million tonnes of bauxite to its Lanjigarh refinery by stated-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).