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Friday, 16th October 2026
Alleged Forgery of Tribal Consent Documents Raises Concerns Over Adani-Linked Mining Project in India
17 October 2026 00:10 AM
NEWS DESK
Serious allegations of fraud have emerged over the acquisition of tribal land for a major mining project linked to India’s Adani Group. Hundreds of tribal residents in Koraput district of Odisha have allegedly had their signatures and fingerprints forged to secure consent for a bauxite mining project.
The alleged irregularities reportedly include fingerprints attributed to people who had died months earlier and bedridden individuals suffering from paralysis.
A special report by Al Jazeera has brought the allegations to light. The $24 million mining project is being developed by Kalinga Alumina Limited, a company owned by Gautam Adani, one of India’s wealthiest businessmen and a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Under the applicable legal framework, the diversion of tribal forest land for other purposes requires consent from the Gram Sabha, or village assembly, with at least 50 per cent of its members reportedly required to provide written approval.
Official documents suggest that nearly all adult residents of the villages willingly agreed to give up their land. However, local tribal residents have disputed the records, alleging that most of the signatures and fingerprints were fabricated.
One resident of Balda village expressed outrage, saying his mother died in February 2025, yet documents allegedly show that she signed the consent papers at a meeting held eight months after her death. In another alleged case, fingerprints were attributed to a person who had been bedridden with paralysis for around five years.
Some residents have also alleged that intermediaries collected signatures on blank sheets of paper under the pretext of completing paperwork for another government-related activity. They claim those signatures were later used without their knowledge to prepare consent documents for the mining project.
The heads of both villages have reportedly denied that any such valid meeting or consent-gathering exercise took place.
Despite the alleged irregularities, the company was granted rights over forest land within a short period, according to the report. Residents concerned about losing their ancestral land, sacred hills and surrounding forests are now turning to the courts to challenge the process.
Al Jazeera reportedly attempted to contact the Adani Group and local administrative authorities for comment, but neither responded.
The tribal residents, meanwhile, have vowed to continue resisting the project, insisting that they will not surrender their ancestral land and sacred forests on the basis of what they allege to be forged consent documents.
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