Read the final statement issued by the UK NCP concluding the specific instance - 25 September 2009

Read the follow-up statement issued by the UK NCP - 12 March 2010

In December 2008, the UK NCP received a request for review by the NGO Survival International alleging that Vedanta had breached the general policies, and environment provisions of the Guidelines for failing to consult with the Dongria Kondh, an indigenous group affected by its operations, in respect of Vedanta’s planned construction of an open pit bauxite mine in India. These allegations implied that Vedanta had failed to respect India’s international commitments and had also breached India’s domestic law.

Vedanta denied the allegations and also declined the NCP’s offer of conciliation/mediation and failed to provide any evidence during the examination stage to support its position. The NCP thus considered all evidence provided by the NGO together with evidence it collected through its own research.

After reviewing all the evidence, the NCP upheld Survival International’s allegations that Vedanta had breached the the Guidelines. Specifically, Vedanta had failed to consult with the Dongria Kondh and to consider the impact of its activities on their rights and freedoms. In their final statement concluding the specific instance, the NCP made a series of recommendations to the company. 

The NCP issued a follow-up statement in 2010 which records that the parties disagreed about whether Vedanta had implemented the recommendations. The NCP encouraged the parties to continue to engage with each other in order to come to a resolution.