Adani Bauxite Mining Project Threatens Rare Jeypore Ground Gecko Habitat
Mining proposal in Odisha risks destroying critical habitat of an ancient rediscovered reptile
1Rediscovered Reptile Faces Extinction Threat
The rare Jeypore ground gecko, presumed extinct for 130 years until its 2010 rediscovery, faces immediate danger in Odisha's Balda hills. Only four individuals were recorded over the past year. Crucially, these sightings occurred directly within the footprint of a planned opencast bauxite mining project by an Adani-linked enterprise.
2Historical Context and Ecological Importance
First described in 1878 by British naturalist Richard Henry Beddome, the nocturnal reptile eluded science until Ishan Agarwal and Aniruddha Datta-Roy found specimens in 2010. Ecologically distinct, the gecko split from close relatives over 20 million years ago, making it a critical evolutionary relict in the Eastern Ghats range.
3Scale of the Mining Proposal
The proposed opencast mining operation spans 147 hectares of forest within the sensitive Nageswari reserve forest. Managed by Adani subsidiary Kalinga Alumina Ltd, the extraction project targets high-elevation bauxite deposits. This planned land clearing directly overlaps with the highly restricted microhabitat where recent rare gecko sightings were confirmed.
4Historical Habitat Loss in Potangi
Industrial history offers a grim precedent for this species. Its original 1870s discovery site in Potangi, Odisha, was entirely destroyed by National Aluminium Company Limited bauxite mining. Scientists confirm the gecko is now extinct in that historic location, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of high-altitude Eastern Ghats ecosystems to extraction.
5Indigenous Resistance and Forest Rights
Local Bondo and Porja Adivasi communities have actively resisted the project across two years, asserting customary claims over their ancestral territory. Residents filed formal complaints against Kalinga Alumina Ltd in February. Community members recently halted Adani survey drones and continue protesting government refusal to recognize their statutory forest rights.
6High Altitude Habitat Constraints
The gecko is strictly range-restricted, inhabiting high-elevation zones between 900 and 1,400 metres in the northern Eastern Ghats. Land-use changes such as coffee plantations, hydropower initiatives, and open-pit mining fragment these unique boulder-strewn forests. Due to narrow biological niches, affected populations cannot easily migrate to lower altitudes or alternative landscapes.
7Broader Endemic Biodiversity at Risk
The Balda hills host a unique assemblage of wildlife beyond the gecko. The area supports other rare endemics, including the limbless amphibian Gegeneophis orientalis and the Araku worm gecko. Scientists stress that clearing these specific high-elevation forest tracts threatens multiple unstudied and undescribed species native to the ecosystem.
8Conservationists Demand Mining Halt
Prominent herpetologist Romulus Whitaker warned that the mining project will inevitably destroy critical habitats, designating the gecko as a flagship conservation species. Whitaker and field scientists strongly advised halting extraction in the Balda hills. They argue that preserving irreplaceable regional biodiversity must take absolute precedence over mineral extraction initiatives.