It has been a decade since the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement in 2013 upholding the rights of gram sabhas at Niyamgiri, Rayagada, and Kalahandi (Odisha) against the conversion of forest land for proposed bauxite mining by Vedanta Alumina company. The judgment was a watershed moment for the decentralisation of power, grassroots democracy, and tribal rights over forest and land under the fifth scheduled areas of the Indian Constitution.The decision halted the advancement of bauxite mining on the top of Niyamgiri Hill, and as a result, the Dongria Kondh (a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group) continues to live there. However, despite the Supreme Court’s judgment protecting the community rights of the Dongria Kondh over Niyamgiri, their difficulties have continued. Government facilities are still a distant dream, and they have to deal with the mental and emotional pressure of uncertainty and police surveillance, and violence in their day-to-day lives.Public infrastructure is still a distant dream In January 2023, as part of a research team, we visited the Lakhpadar village situated on the top of Niyamgiri Hill. We travelled around 10-15 km from Lanjigarh to reach the Dongria Kondh village Phuldumer, which has a proper road and is situated on the base of Niygamgiri Hill. After that, we travelled another four kilometers on a steep metal road to reach a village called Tadijhola. From there, we climbed the forest and walked for one hour to reach another village called Lakhpadar. In between, we crossed as many as ten springs.Surrounded by a dense forest, the 100 metres leading up to the village has a newly constructed concrete road. There are around 25 houses constructed in two rows, with all houses covered with tin rooftops. The main street of the village is rough, with rock layers, and is steep on one side. The villagers depend on spring water connected through pipes and taps; the spring water is also used for bathing and other purposes.According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 270 (115 men and 155 women). It has 59 households, and the literacy rate is 0.47%. There is no school or anganwadi centre in the village. They mostly depend upon traditional healthcare methods, and no healthcare center is nearby. The panchayat office Parsali, under Kalyangsingpur Bolk, district Rayagada, is around 10 km away.Phuldumer, Kunakadu, Tadijhola, and Lakhpadar are among the 12 villages where a gram sabha meeting was conducted after the Supreme Court order. The Dongria Kondh of the Niyamgiri Hills live in four community blocks – Muniguda, Raygada, and Kalyansingpur in Rayagada and Lanjigarh block in Kalahandi district. The majority of them live in the Rayagada district, as most of the Niyamgiri Hills come under the Rayagada district. These villages have very limited public infrastructure facilities like schools, healthcare centers, roads, transport services, markets, etc.A baseline survey by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (2016) Odisha reveals that the total Dongria Kondh population in Rayagada district is 7,722 (4,443 women and 3,279 men) living in 1,892 families. They live in 98 villages with extremely minimal infrastructure facilities. For instance, only 31 of these villages have schools, while 28 villages have anganwadi centres. Only 16 villages are connected with motorable roads. The literacy rate among the Dongria Kondh is 29%, out of which the male literacy rate is 24.5% and the female literacy rate is 15.9%, according to the survey.Demography, literacy and available basic infrastructure for Dongria Kondh in Niyamgiri, Rayagada. Source: SCs & STs Research Institute (SCSTRTI), Government of Odisha (2016). Conservation- cum- Development Plan for Dangaria Kandha PVTG. DKDA, Kurli, Chatikona, Rayagada.An uncertain future The Dongria Kondh depend upon shifting cultivation and collection of minor forest products for their livelihood. They have still maintained their unique way of life, maintaining their social, religious and cultural practices and beliefs which are different from the caste society. An activist who shares a close bond with the Dongria Kondh said that “earlier, they were not participating in elections and were unaware of the police and judiciary system, as this system had not reached them. There was no road and connectivity, no school and anganwadi even today. However, after Vedanta came to Niyamgiri they protested and came into direct contact with the police, judiciary and outside society.”Lada Sikaka, a leader of the Dongria Kondh and president of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, recalled their protest against the mining and life thereafter with pain. He said that till now, they have not allowed Vedanta to mine on their sacred land, and he is hopeful that the next generation will continue to save their land. He said, “We have been living in this forest for generations. This is our mata (mother) that gives us food, a living, and water. If the company displaces us, we will die. If our mata is erased, then how can we live?”Ever since the company came to the area, their struggles have doubled, Sikaka said. “But we fought and we won. The company had come and started some work near our sacred place where we worship Niyam Raja Niyam God) and we had no other choice than to oppose it strongly,” this.The community is still worried about the possibility of the company taking over their sacred hill. Organising against the Vedanta project, and the turmoil and uncertainty that brought, meant they had to take time away from their daily activities.A Dongria Kondh village in Niyamgiri Hill. Photo: Author providedContinuous police surveillance On August 29, there was news in the evening that environmental activist Prafulla Samantara had been kidnapped from a private lodge in the district headquarter Rayagada and was released in Berhamapur, which is 205 km away. He had come to meet the arrested leaders of the Niyamgiri Surakha Samiti and was supposed to address a press conference after that. He alleged that his unlawful detention was done either by the police or goons hired by the company.On August 9, when the whole world was celebrating World Indigenous Day, the Dongria Kondhs of Niyamgiri Hill and their supporters were arrested and slapped with the UAPA by the Odisha police to prevent them from attending a celebration and protest gathering. Those who were charged include Lada Sikaka, Drenju Krushka, Manu Sikaka and Saamba Huika (all from the Dongria Kondh community) and their supporters like Lingaraj Azad, Upendra Bag and Lenin Kumar.Lingaraj Azad, an activist and the leader of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, said that just before World Indigenous Day, two Dongria Kondh young men were picked up while they were on their way home from shopping. After four or five days of protest, villagers came to know that they had been detained by the police, who initially denied their involvement in the matter. Finally, they released one youth, while the other was charged in a rape case. Surprisingly, neither he nor anyone else knows when the incident took place and the FIR was lodged in the police station.Lingaraj Azad alleged that police framed innocent Dongria Kondhs and their supporters under false charges, and used the draconian UAPA to try and silence them. He counts more than 20 who have been falsely framed by the police.According to Lada Sikaka, police surveillance and violence began only after Vedanta came to Lanjigarh and proposed to mine on their land. He has been arrested thrice by the police under various charges that he does not know.Way forward Looking into the socio-economic situation of Dongria Kondhs, the lack of basic public infrastructure in Niyamgiri, and the police violence, the question that comes to mind is, how sensitive is the state police while dealing with a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group like the Dongria Kondh? More than the police, what they needed was a teacher, an anganwadi and road and transportation infrastructure. The police cannot bring development.Dr Deepak Kumar Nanda is a development researcher and currently teaches at the Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi. Dr Bipon Jojo is a professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Views expressed above are personal.