Category: Our work

State Level Consultation – Boisar, Maharashtra

In the State Level Consultation at Boisar, Palghar, Maharashtra there were discussions on the overview of mining throughout the country, various stages of mining, illegal mining, Samata Judgement, situation of children in the mining areas and consequences on their education, health due to air and water pollution, malnutrition issues etc., There were sessions on Mining Rules & Law Amendments, DMF Structure, Set up & present status, Cooperative mining – shareholding for the tribals, Silicosis, Displacement and Future Generation Fund (model of Goa).

A short documentary film “Falling through the cracks – Children and Mining” was screened and followed by a detailed session on the plight of children in mining areas by the Secretary General of mm&P. A Participatory approach was followed in sensitizing the people on the violation of child rights in the context of Children in mining areas.

There were elaborative discussions on Industrial Corridors especially the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) which is a dedicated corridor spread across the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajathan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The project has received a major boost from India and Japan, due to an agreement to set up a project development fund with an initial size of Rs.1,000 crore (US$139.3 million).The Japanese and Indian governments are likely to contribute equally. The work is progressing at a rapid pace, with the dedicated freight corridor expected to be completed by December 2019. It came into notice that the DMIC is spread across 4,36,486 sq. kms. and 17% of the country’s population will be affected because of the same.

There was sharing on the issues of Bullet train, National Expressways, Delhi- Mumbai Flight Corridor in the context of land acquisition, Emergence of Tribals, Challenges faced by them, Tribal Identity – Governance in schedule areas, Tribal Advisory Council, Schedule V & Schedule VI of the Constitution and Migration.

District Level Consultation – Markapuram, Prakasam

District Level Consultation on Children in Mining Area, DMF & Illegal Mining was conducted at Markapuram, Prakasham, Andhra Pradesh.

The Consultation was attended by the RDO, Mr. Ramkrishna Reddy, AD Mines & Geology, A.P., Mr. E. Narsimha Reddy & ALO Mr. Suresh among the State Govt. Officials. Mr. RDO spoke about the various Govt. Schemes and suggested the gathering to utilize the benefits of the schemes and about PMKKKY (Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna) launched by the Central Govt. in 2015 to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining-related operations, using the funds generated by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs).

Hon. AD Mines & Geology said that Prakasam has received 48 crores for DMF and the money is already being used for the anganwadi centres, Health, sanitation and Education purposes. He mentioned that if there is any requirement from any village for village development and if the Gram Sabha approves of the same, the state govt. will sanction money for such development purposes. He also said that in 2017-2018, 260 cases of illegal sand mining cases have been filed and action is being taken accordingly.

A short documentary film “Falling through the cracks – Children and Mining” was screened and followed by a detailed session on the plight of children in mining areas. A Participatory approach was followed in sensitizing the people on the violation of child rights in the context of Children in mining areas.

Lobbying with Parliamentarians – Monsoon Session 2018

In an effort to have a meaningful dialogue and to raise the issues, created and abandoned by mining industries, Samata along with its national alliance mines, minerals and People with a team of delegation from states across the country has met with the parliamentarians from various political parties to submit its memorandum in New Delhi from 8th to 10th August 2018. The delegation led by Ravi Rebbapragada, chairperson mm&P, Ashok Shrimali, Secretary General mm&P and Executive Committee members from the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka met Members of Parliament (MP) from different states spanning across parties from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The delegation met with Mr. Mansukhbhai Vasava, Mr. Prabhubhai Vasava, Mr. Arjunlal Meena, Mr. Sanjay Singh, Mr. Syed Naseer Hussain, Mr. Naranbhai Rathwa, Mr. L. Hanumanthaiiah, Mr. Madhusudan Mistry, Mr. Rajamani Patel, Mr. Narendra K. Sawaikar and Mr.K Raju. The Delegation met with Mr. Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary (Minister of State, Coal and Mines) to discuss about the legal hurdles that may be faced if the Central Government amends the MMDR Act, 1957 and the Abolition of Mining Concessions and Declaration of mining Leases Act 1987.

mm&P is an Alliance of individuals, institutions and communities across the country who are concerned and affected by mining.

The issues raised by the delegation include the poor implementation of PESA Act, non- utilization of DMF funds, illegal mining across the country, forced land acquisition, poor safety of mine workers, environmental degradation due to mining and false charges against the Patthargadi Movement activists. The constitutional rights of the Adivasi community and those affected by mining are ignored in the process of meeting the ‘National development goals’.

The Delegation proposed the concept of co-operative mining across the mining areas as per the Samata Judgement,1997. This will ensure sustainable mining, reduce environmental degradation and generate employment to the local communities.
Illegal mining is rampant across the country. Approximately 1 lakh illegal mining cases are reported across the Country with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh topping the list (attached is the list of illegal mining across the country).

With regard to DMF total collection across the country has been reported as 18,467 crores, however 3552.39 crores has been spent in the mining affected areas (attached is the total collection and expenditure of DMF across states).

20 social activists have been arrested on the charges of sedition for supporting tribal population in engraving the provision of the 5th Schedule and the Constitution of India on the stones known as the Patthargadi Movement. This issue needs attention of the Parliament.

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District Level Consultation – Telangana

In the District Level Consultation at Telengana, A short documentary film “Falling through the cracks – Children and Mining” was screened and followed by a detailed session on the plight of children in mining areas by the Secretary General of mm&P. A Participatory approach was followed in sensitizing the people on the violation of child rights in the context of Children in mining areas. There were discussions on the overview of mining throughout the state regarding five open cast mines and Singareni Coal mines, various stages of mining, degradation of Godavari River’s water quality and water pollution.

There were sessions on Mining Rules & Law Amendments, DMF Structure, Set up & present status, Cooperative mining – shareholding for the tribals, Silicosis, lack of implementation of FRA, Labour Act, Displacement, Communities command over natural resources, Future Generation Fund (model of Goa), Women & Mining etc.

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