Protest held off Vizag coast against gas expansion

The Hindu | V. Kamalakara Rao | Nov 08, 2024
Counterparts hold similar protests at Palghar near Mumbai, and off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian Sea

As many as 100 people, including fishermen and tribals, held an innovative protest in 10 fishing boats in the sea as part of the ‘Asia Day Against Gas Expansion’ against the activities that are against the objectives of the Paris Agreement that combats Climate Change.

Mines, Minerals & PEOPLE (MM&P), an NGO, organised the protest on behalf of international organisations Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Asian Energy Network, Don’t Gas Asia, and Don’t Gas The South, on the Bay of Bengal along the Visakhapatnam coast.

Speaking to The Hindu, MM&P chairperson Ravi Rebbapragada said, “We held the protest on the Bay of Bengal along the Visakhapatnam coast. We are members of international organisations, and similarly along the west coast, at Palghar in Maharastra, and some places in Gujarat as well, similar protests were held against the activities that affect the environment and go against the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

Apart from local fishermen, tribals from Borra Caves and other parts of ASR district also participated in the protest by holding placards in the 10 boats in the sea, Mr. Ravi added.

“The Paris Agreement is an international treaty that aims to limit global warming and help countries adapt to climate change. It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris on December 12 in 2015, and entered into force on November 4, 2016,” Mr. Ravi said.

“World leaders of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is an international treaty among countries to combat dangerous human interference with climate change, have stressed the need to limit the global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century,” he said.

“Even as the world is facing a climate change-induced crisis year after year, gas projects continue to rise at a pace faster than how countries must reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This prompted us to launch the protest against the expansion of the gas projects with placards saying ‘Stop Gas Expansion’, ‘Stop Financing Natural Gas’ & ‘No to Gas & LNG’. However, the solution is renewable energy. Gas is not a transition fuel. Fossil gas is harmful for the planet, toxic to humans, and expensive. So, don’t gas the south,” Mr. Ravi said.

Karnataka: Odisha family rescued from bonded labour in Hassan, factory owner arrested

The News Minute | 05 July, 2024

The plight of the Putel family came to the attention of Holenarasipura officials through social media after their videos were posted by an NGO on the micro-blogging platform X.

A family of four who had been forced to work as bonded labourers at a brick factory in Hassan district in Karnataka were rescued by Revenue Department officials on July 2. The brick factory owner Sathish was arrested by the Holenarasipura police on July 4.

According to the police, the rescued family, Mokardaj Putel, 35, his wife Urmila Putel, 27, and their two children, aged 11 and 5, hail from Balangir district in Odisha. They had migrated to Mandya, Karnataka, three years ago in search of employment. Initially working in a brickmaking unit in Mandya, the family moved to Jodi Gubbi village in Holenarasipura taluk of Hassan, lured by the promise of better wages and an advance payment of Rs 17,000 from Sathish.

Read more: Karnataka: Odisha family rescued from bonded labour in Hassan, factory owner arrested

Sathish had promised the family Rs 800 for every 1,000 bricks they produced daily and provided them with shelter and cooking supplies. However, they were not paid for their work over the last three years and were not allowed to move freely or visit their native place.

The plight of the Putel family came to the attention of Holenarasipura officials through social media after their videos were posted by an NGO on the micro-blogging platform X. Tahsildar KK Krishnamurthy, along with other officials, rescued the family and relocated them to a post-metric hostel of the Social Welfare Department in Ambedkar Nagar, Holenarasipura.

According to Labour Inspector Yamuna, the family will be sent back to Odisha only after they have been registered as bonded labourers. “The Revenue Department is in the process of declaring them as bonded labourers. Once they are registered as bonded labourers, they will be rehabilitated by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department. Their bank accounts will be opened and we will need their identity proof,” Yamuna said. She added that the family does not have any identification documents, which has slowed the process.

Sathish, the brick kiln owner, faces multiple charges under sections 143 (trafficking of a person) and 146 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, sections 16 (punishment for enforcement of bonded labour), 17 (punishment for advancement of bonded debt), and 18 (punishment for extracting bonded labour under the bonded labour system) of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, and section 3 (prohibition of employment of children in certain occupations and processes) of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act.

According to The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, a bonded labourer is a person who is forced to work under certain conditions. A primary condition is debt bondage, where the individual is compelled to work as a result of any pre-existing debt or obligation. This can include work without wages or for nominal wages, or work to repay an advance or loan taken by themselves or their family. Bonded labour also encompasses situations where the labour or service is given due to coercion, and the person cannot freely leave the employment.

The Act specifically addresses cases where the debtor, or any of their family members, are forced to work as a result of a debt, and their freedom to move or to seek alternative employment is restricted. It also covers conditions of labour that are exploitative or harsh, and situations where the amount of the debt is such that it is virtually impossible to repay, leading to a state of continuous bondage.

Rs 82,000 cr collected under District Mineral Foundation till August: Govt

Business Standard | Oct 09, 2023

DMF is a non-profit body working for people and areas affected by mining-related activities in such manner as may be prescribed by the state government

The mines ministry on Monday said Rs 82,370.79 crore has been collected under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) till August this year.
DMF is a non-profit body working for people and areas affected by mining-related activities in such manner as may be prescribed by the state government.

“The total amount of funds collected under DMF comes to Rs 82,370.79 crore and the amount utilised stands at Rs 45,150.21 crore (August),” the Ministry of Mines said.
As of August, DMFs have been set up in 644 districts in 23 states/Union Territories, while 17 states/UTs have DMFs in each district, the ministry said.

States and UTs that have DMFs in all district include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir.

Centre introduces amendment to forest conservation law; experts say move will destroy forests

The New Indian Express | March 31, 2023

The Bill emphasised on diversion of ‘deemed forest’ for non-forest use. The deemed forest is a kind of forest that is not notified as a forest, but in governments’ records, it is considered a forest.

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav introduced the forest conservation amendment bill in the Lok Sabha. The Bill intends to exempt lakhs of hectares of forest land from mandatory forest clearance laws. Environmentalists see the amendments as a dilution of strong forest laws, consequently degrading the existing forest.

Read more

Modi Govt Allows Commercial Mining in Captive Blocks Even in Reserved Forests

News click | Ayaskant Das | 30 March, 2023

Restrictions placed through forest clearance approvals on commercial sale of minerals from captive mines nullified with post facto effect.

New Delhi: In what could have far-reaching implications for the environment and livelihoods of communities living near forested areas of the country, the Narendra Modi government has allowed commercial mining from captive blocks even within reserve forests.

In a circular dated March 17, the Central government has asked state governments to allow lease holders of captive mines within reserved forests to sell up to 50% of total minerals extracted in a year after meeting end-use restrictions.

Read more
1 2