Bauxite mining
activities of Sterlite, which were obstructed by local communities in
the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district of Orissa, have now got the
go-ahead from the Supreme Court but petitioners say that popular
protests will continue and there is no hope for mining in the hills.
The court has asked the company to pay five per cent of their profit or
Rs 10 crore for community development annually to be eligible to mine
in the hills. However, petitioners Loka Shakti Abhiyan and Wildlife
Society of Orissa say that money cannot be a substitute for the rivers
and other wealth of the hills, which will be lost forever by mining.
Says Prafulla Mahantara of Loka Shakti Abhiyan, a petitioner in the
case: “People never asked for anything. So they don’t want anything in
return for their hills and rivers. They were against any mining in
Niyamgiri and will not allow it.”
He says popular protests will continue and ultimately it is the people
who are supreme, not the court. Sanjay Parikh, a lawyer, says the
judgment will, for the first time, fix a price that a company will have
to spend on the community. He adds that money cannot be a substitute
for the land or river taken away from the people and the court will
have to restore the lands of the people.
Sterlite wants to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hill area for its
proposed Rs 4,000-crore aluminium project.
Whether it is Sterlite or Posco, no order can change the things on the
ground till the people want it, says Mahantara, citing the case of a
stalled mining project sanctioned to the Aditya Birla group. It is yet
to take off despite over two years of approval by the Orissa High
Court, he points out.
Utkal Alumina's proposed Rs 4000-crore aluminum refinery plant in
Rayagada district has not made much progress despite the green signal
from the Orissa High Court, thanks to local protests over
rehabilitation and environmental safety.
The Supreme Court order today has come against the advice of its own
Court Empowered Committee, which said in 2005 that mining should not be
done on the Niyamagiri hills (see box). The mining activities may
pollute or even dry up the sources of the rivers which flow from them,
thus ruining the cultivation and livelihoods of the people living
downhill.
The area is also the habitat of tribal groups like Dongria Kondh, Kutia
Kondha and Jharania ondha, who regard the hills as sacred.
In the case of Posco, which also won a positive ruling from the Supreme
Court today, work on its project has not progressed because of local
opposition. About 25 people were arrested recently after the death of a
protester.
Arcelor Mittal, which has recently announced the successful completion
of a gram sabha in Keonjhar district of Orissa, unanimously favouring
its going ahead with the acquisition of 8,000 acres of land for mining,
is also facing tough times despite its claims.
The company says it got unanimous approval from the people at the gram
sabhas held in Bhrungarajposi while villagers raised questions at
Raikela, both in Keonjhar district. In fact, local groups say that the
gram sabha was held under police protection and supervision of the
district collector. Hence, it was more of bureaucratic arm twisting.
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