Bhubaneswar, May 16: The Odisha government will seek more time from the Supreme Court for holding gram sabhas in the Niyamgiri hills to decide whether proposed bauxite mining by Vedanta group and a state-run agency have violated the religious and cultural rights of local tribal people.

“We have suggested that the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe department seek six weeks more time to organise gram sabhas as it is not possible to complete the process within the time stipulated by the apex court,” said law minister Maheshwar Mohanty following a review meeting.

The Supreme Court, in its April 18 judgment, ruled that all project related claims of Niyamgiri’s Kondh tribals must be filed within six weeks before the gram sabhas elected by them.

The gram sabhas were to decide the Kondh tribals’ claims, including their religious issues, within three months and send their recommendations to the Union environment and forests ministry. If the gram sabhas gave their nod, the ministry was then to decide in two months whether to revoke its earlier decision to withdraw its Stage II clearance to the mining project.

According to the apex court, the gram sabha proceedings are to be attended as an observer by “a judicial officer of the rank of district judge, nominated by the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court”.

The observer has to sign the minutes, certifying that the gram sabha proceedings “took place independently and completely uninfluenced either by the project proponents or the central government or the state government”.

Sources said the meeting today had examined legal aspects of the situation arising out of the Supreme Court judgment.

“We have recommended to the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe department, which is the nodal body for the purpose, to organise the gram sabhas in 12 affected villages of Niyamgiri. Religious and cultural aspects, which had not been considered earlier, should be reflected in the resolutions of the village bodies this time,” said Mohanty.