The Dongria and Kutia Kondh tribals of Niyamgiri want palli sabha or gram sabha in all the villages that are going to be affected by Vedanta Aluminium's (VAL) mining project. The tribals, under the Niyamgiri Surakhya Samiti (NSS), will meet Orissa governor SC Jamir on June 13 to submit a memorandum for gram sabha in all the villages of the Niyamgiri hill region. The NSS is spearheading the movement against VAL's bauxite mining project, The state government has identified 12 villages – seven in Rayagada district and five in Kalahandi district—for the gram sabha to seek the opinion of the villagers on the project following the Supreme Court's directions in April. The government picked villages with small population for the palli sabha, said Prafulla Samantray, an advisor to NSS convenor. According to him, the government chose a village Ydrupa, which has only one family. This has been done by the government so that it could manipulate the villagers, he alleged. The decision of Vedanta to reopen the alumina plant at this point of time is nothing but to influence the tribals before the palli sabha, he pointed out. “Since the governor is the custodian of the tribals in the state, the NSS will approach him to intervene and ensure the palli sabha be conducted as per the directive of the Supreme Court,” said Samantray. Union tribal affair ministry has written a letter to the state government for gram sabha in all the villages that are going to be affected by the project. State STs and SCs minister Lal Bihari Himrika, who is from Rayagada, said the government is examining the letter.