Indian miner Vedanta faces Avatar-style protest at its London AGM

Controversial mining company Vedanta faces more protests at its annual shareholder meeting this week from campaigners who liken it to the evil multinational in the film Avatar. Campaign group Survival International has hired make-up artists to paint several protesters so they look like the film's blue-faced Na'vi rebels, who will spearhead a rally outside the London AGM on Wednesday. Vedanta, majority-owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been criticised by Amnesty International for abusing the rights of local people in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Several organisations, including the Church of England and the charitable Joseph Rowntree Trust, have disinvested from the company over the treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribe. Vedanta has also drawn fire over the deaths of 41 people after a chimney collapsed at an aluminium plant which it operates with the Indian government in the country's central region. In the past, the company has rejected claims that it cuts corners on safety or that it is responsible for accidents. But a damning Amnesty report criticised Vedanta's record in Orissa, where it runs an alumina refinery at the foot of the Niyamgiri hills, alleging river pollution and damage to crops. The hills are home to around 8,000 Dongria Kondh people who allege their health has been affected by Vedanta's activities. Survival International is focusing on plans by Vedanta to expand the refinery and build a mine at the top of the hills, which are viewed as sacred by the tribe. A spokesman said: "Vedanta should halt their operations in the region and postpone further development pending the outcome of talks with local people, whose wishes should be respected in accordance with international guidelines. "'Like the Na'vi, the Kondh are also at risk. The [proposed] mine will destroy the forests on which the Kondh depend and wreck the lives of thousands." Vedanta said: "We work with more than 90 non-governmental organisations and numerous authorities in India. This is to ensure full compliance with all environmental standards, as well as contributing to India's development. Over the last five years, Vedanta has invested $75m [£49.2m] on a number of social development programmes. These include child care, health and hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation." Shareholder lobby group Pirc is recommending investors oppose the re-election of three non-executive directors at Vedanta because of their alleged role in the company's poor handling of environmental, social and governance issues. Pirc opposes the election of senior non-executive Naresh Chandra who chairs the company's health and safety committee. Celebrity campaigner Michael Palin, the former Monty Python actor, said: "I've been to the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa and seen the forces of money and power that Vedanta Resources have arrayed against a people who have occupied their land for thousands of years, who husband the forest sustainably and make no great demands on the state or the government. The tribe I visited simply want to carry on living in the villages that they and their ancestors have always lived in." The Indian government has delayed the mining project for several years, demanding several reviews.