Polavaram will render people from 192 villages homeless

Deccan Chronicle | April 11, 2021

KAKINADA: All those who have been displaced from 192 villages because of Polavaram Project are living in fear amid insecurity. They are all worried that the villages would be submerged in June or July because of cyclones and floods. They appealed to the Union and state governments to provide a relief and resettlement package to them, before the completion of Polavaram Project.

According to them, nearly 3.5 lakh people, from Schedule Tribe and Scheduled Caste, are facing a threat of their livelihood. According to sources, the government completed 70 per cent of Polavaram project works by the end of December but only four percent of the R & R package was implemented. The Chief Minister aimed at completing the project by the year-end.

As per the 2017 statistics, 5,08,874 persons have been displaced and the number may increase.

The state government had announced that 371 villages will be submerged due to the project and CCLA has given permission for providing R&R package to 164 villages. However, only 15 villages have been given partial R&R packages.

Indian Association of Lawyers state executive member Inapurapu Suryanaryana said that the Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) found fault with the project as there is no MoU between Centre and the state government on construction of Polavaram project and advised the state government to reach a truce with the Union Government for the sake of the project.

To avoid submergence problems, the Centre advised state governments of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to construct protection walls at eight and four places, respectively. But, either has obliged. He said that the Union Government has also not taken any steps to have cases filed in the Supreme Court to be withdrawn by Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

SC, ST vigilance and monitoring committee district member Ayithabathula Rameswara Rao demanded the government to halt Polavaram project works till the completion of R&R package works to 371 villages. He said that the ST Commission recommendations have not been implemented by the governments so far. Adivasi maha sabha district secretary Karam Venkateswara Rao said that tribal people should be given fertile lands as compensation. The government should provide livelihood to people who will lose their forest products. He demanded the government should make a fresh integrated survey on the number of displaced persons and families under the project under New Land Acquisition Amendment Act, as the socio economic survey was last done in 2005 and there were no environmental clearance for the project till 2009.

HC stays e-tender for calcite mining in Visakhapatnam

The Hindu | Sumit Bhattacharjee | April 11, 2021

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has put on hold for three weeks the e-tender for ‘working of calcite mining lease’ in 8.725 hectares at Nimmalapadu village in Ananthagiri mandal of Visakhapatnam district, on ‘raising-cum-sale contract basis’ floated by the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC).

The High Court passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Sri Abhaya Girijana Mutually Aided Labour Contract Cooperative Society on Saturday.

The cooperative society has been trying to get the lease for mining since the last two decades. But, it was rejected by the APMDC every time. Earlier, the Birla group had the lease over the mines and it was passed to the APMDC after a Supreme Court order in 1995.

Earlier, the cooperative society had also proposed a tripartite agreement with the State government and a private party, but it was rejected, said Ravi Rebbapragada, Executive Director of Samata.

Mr. Ravi had played a key role in getting the Samata judgement from the Supreme Court which protects the tribal rights and acts as a benchmark for all tribal related issues along with the Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA).

‘No grama sabha held’

According to Mr. Ravi, the cooperative society’s pleas were ignored and neither did the APMDC care to hold a grama sabha with the tribal people from the region, before floating the e-tender, in violation of the PESA, FRA and Samata and Niyamgiri judgments of the Supreme Court.

Moreover, the cooperative society contested that one of the clause in the e-tender said that the lease would be be given to a tribal person, not to a tribal cooperative. “This provision will facilitate benami trading, as no tribal person has the mining equipment listed in the contractual clauses,” he said.

The members of the cooperative society said that clauses should be modified and cooperatives be allowed to place their bids, and grama sabha be held as per the laws embedded in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. The area earmarked for mining is rich in mineral and the calcite is pure and free of silica. The tribal people need to get the benefit of the resources, said Mr. Ravi.

APMDC has no right to issue tender for calcite mining in scheduled area: EAS Sarma

The Hindu | April 09, 2021

‘It should be first discussed in the local adivasi Gram Sabha’
Former secretary to GOI and former Commissioner for Tribal Welfare, A.P. Government, E.A.S. Sarma, has taken strong exception to the way in which the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has issued an E-Tender for ‘Working of Calcite Mining Lease’ of 8.725 hectares at Nimmalapadu village in Ananthagiri mandal in Visakhapatnam district, on ‘Raising-cum-sale contract basis’.

In a letter to the Chief Secretary, he stated that the APMDC has no right to unilaterally issue such a notification and it was in gross violation of the provisions embedded in the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA).

Speaking to The Hindu, he said that both the Acts are applicable to the Nimmalapadu village, as it lies within the notified Scheduled Area of Visakhapatnam district.

According to him, in the Scheduled Areas, as per the provisions of PESA, the question whether any mineral should be extracted and, if so, by whom, should be discussed first by the local adivasi Gram Sabha.

Such a prior discussion had not apparently taken place, he alleged. Even under the FRA, it is necessary that the individual and community rights to the land and the forest resources should be subject to prior discussion by the local adivasi Gram Sabha, which appears to have been bypassed, he added.

As such, the e-tender notice is patently illegal and liable to be set aside, he said.

The Samata Judgement and the judgement in the case of bauxite mining by Vedanta in the scheduled area of Odisha, holds good in this case also, said Mr. Sarma.

It is learnt that a local tribal cooperative has approached the AP High Court to obtain a stay on the e-tender.

A few years ago, the same tribal cooperative had approached the government for lease for mining and was denied.

NGT team visits Polavaram project

The Hindu | March 31, 2021

A six-member team, constituted by National Green Tribunal (NGT), visited the Polavaram project in West Godavari district on Tuesday.

The team, headed by former High Court Judge Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy, members Harsha Kota, Mannivaram, T. Sasidhar, H.D. Varalakshmi and D. Suresh, visited Mulalanka dumping yard.

The committee directed the project officials to raise plantation in the dumping yard and take steps to prevent damage to agricultural crops. They also visited the spillway bridge and coffer dam at the site.

Amid protest, Odisha Cabinet okays mineral foundation fund for hockey stadium

The Hindustan Times | March 25, 2021

District Mineral Foundation fund for an international hockey stadium in Rourkela is just one of the many projects taken up even as environmentalists protest that the money should be used for improving the lot of people directly affected by mining, which was the purpose of this fund

On Monday, the Odisha Cabinet approved the development of Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium and construction of an international hockey stadium in Rourkela ahead of Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023. Of the ₹356.38 crore the project requires, ₹266 crore will come through District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust of Sundargarh, and Odisha Sports Development Fund.

The decision has renewed the questions that have been raised over the alleged misuse of DMF funds for a various other projects but those for mining-affected public, which was why the DMF was created. For instance, in January last year, Rourkela city police got 25 Innova Crysta vehicles at a cost of ₹4.65 crore with Sundargarh DMF fund.

“How would building stadium or buying police vehicles help mining-affected areas? People in Sundargarh don’t have access to safe drinking water and proper roads. Should the funds not be used for better purposes,” asked Laxman Munda, CPM MLA from Bonai in Sundargarh.

Munda’s protests have come at a time when the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh is using the DMF funds for the construction of an airstrip in Singrauli district, one of the biggest and most polluted coal mining and thermal power hubs in the country.

DMF was instituted through an amendment to Mines and Minerals(Development and Regulation) Act 2015 to “work for the interest and benefit of people and areas affected by mining”. The funds of DMF trust come from mining companies operating in the respective districts and they pay an equivalent of 30% of the royalty amount for leases granted before 2015, and 10% for leases granted after that. DMF fund is to be spent on improving human development indicators through investments in high-priority areas such as healthcare, education, women and child development, improving sustainable livelihood, and income opportunities in areas adversely affected by mining.

Till January this year, Odisha collected ₹11,984.87 crore in its DMF fund, the highest in the country, and spent ₹5,364 crore out of it, around 44.76% , a little less than the national average.

Yet, there are murmurs of protest over the alleged misuse of funds.

Kusum Tete, BJP MLA of Sundargarh, one of the districts where DMF money is being spent, said, “Rourkela city is not a mining area while most of my electorate bear the brunt of pollution due to coal and iron ore mining. The government is using DMF funds for sports infra in Rourkela, and policing. Should it not have used the money for providing piped water in Sundargarh?”

Tete said Hemagir, one of the blocks in her assembly constituency, suffers from pollution from trucks carrying coal to neighbouring Chhatisgarh. “The first priority should have been using the DMF funds to prevent pollution in the area. The tribals have been agitating for the past two months, but the government is the least bothered,” she said.

Chinmayi Shalya, who works with the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iForest) on DMF issues, said DMF fund is not meant for stadium construction and beautification projects. “It is a targeted fund for mining-affected communities. Using it singularly for hockey World Cup would potentially be a misuse,” she said.

Chief secretary Suresh Mohapatra and Sundargarh district collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan did not comment on the allegations.

Activists are also severely critical of the state government’s decision to use DMF funds for integrated traffic management system to check road fatalities in the state.

“The commerce and transport department has asked all districts to install CCTV surveillance system for enforcement of traffic violations at vulnerable stretches and black spots on highways from the DMF or Corporate Social Responsibility fund where DMF is not available. How will CCTV surveillance help the lot of tribals?” asked activist Pradip Pradhan.

The state government also plans to construct integrated infrastructure complex, including old age homes in all the 30 districts, with the funding support from DMF. In Keonjhar, locals pointed out the district authorities are building a handball stadium in Keonjhar. “At least 56% of the people in Keonjhar district are Dalits and tribals and sizeable section of them is below the poverty line. Yet the district administration does not take the suggestion of the common people while finalising the plans for DMF use,” alleged Kiran Sahu, president of Keonjhar Citizen’s Forum.

Even as there have been protests over the expenditure on stadiums and police vehicles, the Odisha Commerce and Transport department has sought the permission to build a new railway line project for iron ore transportation in Keonjhar district from DMF fund, triggered another controversy.

In a letter to the Keonjhar district collector, the department has asked if the DMF trust can sanction ₹363.38 crore for building the 18 km Banspani-Barbil line that will provide direct rail connectivity to iron ore loading stations on the Noamundi-Bolani Khadan section from Banspani for movement to steel plants in Odisha or to ports. The railway line is proposed to be built by Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited, a state government-led joint venture with Indian Railways.

Environmentalists and right activists are decidedly against the project. “When DMF fund is supposed to be spent for the benefit of those affected by mining-related operations, seeking permission for spending it on railway project connecting iron ore loading stations to steel plants is a mad idea. The DMF fund is meant to uplift the living standards of mining-affected people, not make their lives more miserable,” said Prafulla Samantara, rights activist who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2017.

Prominent environmental activist Biswajit Mohanty said it is laughable to propose spending DMF fund for iron ore transportation when miners are asked to contribute to the fund for the damage they are causing to local environment.

CPM MLA from Bonai constituency of Sundargarh district, Laxman Munda said, “Lack of transparency can result in wasteful expenditure, misuse of funds and sub-standard quality of work and corruption.”

Shalya pointed out that decision-making needs to involve those directly affected by mining. “There are some good investment examples from Odisha, such as, the use of DMF to increase MGNREGA wages at par with state minimum wage in Keonjhar. States should guide and equip districts for a long-term planning of DMFs so that funds are used wisely and effectively to improve the well-being of local communities,” she said.

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