State Level Consultation – Bellary, Karnataka

In spite of the Mines Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 2015, giving instructions to respective state governments to form District Mineral Fund (DMF) Trust, it has taken almost 3 years for most of the states to set it up and frame rules. Worse, its implementation is still lagging, and most people still do not have any clue about what is DMF and that it exists.

Highlighting this at a state-level consultation on Children in Mining Area, Illegal Mining and District Mineral Fund (DMF), organized on December 16 by civil rights organizations, Samata, and mines minerals and people (mm&P), and collaborated by local organizations Jan Sangram Parishat and Sakhi Trust at Ballari, Karnataka, secretary-general mm&P Ashok Shrimali appealed to the Union and State Governments to create awareness among the people about DMF, its process and implementation.

Shirmali urged state governments to involve the affected people in the process of planning and implementation of projects regarding the utilization of DMF funds. He highlighted that “planning process should start from the grass-roots level, after mapping the issues covering various aspects that would be for the benefit of the posterity.”

Youth leader from Sandur, Amreesh and Kondamma, a participant and representative from the mining affected community, stated that women and vulnerable communities like SC/ST should have representation in DMF planning, execution and implementation stages. They also emphasized that DMF funds should be utilized only for the betterment and rehabilitation of the mining affected communities and not for infrastructure purposes.

In the context of Karnataka, it was reflected that after the formation of DMF, Rs 1,220 crore had been collected from the mining firms till October 2018, of which the highest was from Ballari Rs 748 crore. The DMF has proposed 1,451 works estimated at Rs 638 crore, while the expenditure till date has been a mere Rs 48 crore.

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News Link

  1. Concern over poor implementation of district mineral fund in Indian states – Counterview.in
  2. Call to include mining-affected persons in works taken up under DMF funds – The HinduPrajavani

 

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.

State Level Consultation – Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

In the State Level Consultation at Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 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., and the need for lobbying at National Level regarding Child Rights as they are being violated. There were discussions on the situation of children in mining areas as it has three aspects to it. Firstly, children (Child Labour) engaged in the hazardous industry. Secondly, those children who are not working in the mines but are living there and thirdly parents of the children who work in the mines. In all these aspects, the rights of the child get undermined.

In Himachal Pradesh, there were also discussions 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, MGNREGA, Hydropower energy, RTE. With regard to illegal mining cases throughout the country, Himachal Pradesh stands 7th.

State Level Consultation – Haldwani, Uttarakhand

In the State Level Consultation at Uttarakhand 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., and the need for lobbying at National Level regarding Child Rights as they are being violated. There were discussions on the situation of children in mining areas as it has three aspects to it. Firstly, children (Child Labour) engaged in the hazardous industry. Secondly, those children who are not working in the mines but are living there and thirdly parents of the children who work in the mines. In all these aspects, the rights of the child get undermined.

In Uttarakhand, participants shared issues on underground water mining, water gravity, migration, literacy & population, mining struggles, Pradhan Mantri Khan Khanij Yojna etc. There were also discussions on Mining Rules & Law Amendments, DMF Structure, Set up & present status, Cooperative mining – shareholding for the tribals, Future Generation Fund (model of Goa), Women & Mining etc.

State Level Consultation – Dabbanda, Visakhapatnam

State Level Consultation on Children in Mining area was conducted on 15th December’ 2017 at Dabbanda, Visakhapatnam.

There were discussions on the mining situation in various districts of Andhra Pradesh like the laterite mining issue in Sarguru and Avelthi, Bauxite mining in Chintapalli, etc. Samata Judgement, Cooperative Mining, the situation of children in the mining areas and consequences on their education, health due to air and water pollution, malnutrition issues etc. It was also said that the mining leases to the companies should be given rationally following all the rules and regulations. Sessions were also held on basic child rights, redressal mechanisms to be followed to address the violation of child rights, migration and trafficking issues among children.

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