The Centre for Science and Environment has released its sixth State of India’s Environment report, titled: Rich Lands, Poor People – Is Sustainable Mining Possible? The report argues that mining in India rarely benefits the regions from where these minerals are extracted; on the contrary it has lead to further impoverishment of people.
Mining in India has, contrary to
government’s claims, done little for the development of the
mineral-bearing regions of the country, says the latest publication
from New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment. The 356-page
sixth State of India’s Environment Report is titled: Rich Lands, Poor People – Is Sustainable Mining Possible?
The first national release of the report took place in the
mineral-rich state of Orissa on December 21 last year by the Governor
of Orissa, M.C. Bhandare.
CSE’s ‘State of India’s Environment’ reports have been widely
acknowledged as the most comprehensive and authoritative series of
publications on the subject of environment and development in India.
The report on mining lives up to the reputation and the promise of
using knowledge for change.
Extensively researched and richly illustrated, Rich Lands, Poor
People details the issues of mining in different states of the country,
impacts on environment and people, and the policy reform that is
essential to practice more ‘sustainable’ mining.
Rich lands, poor people
“If India’s forests, mineral-bearing areas, regions of tribal
habitation and watersheds are all mapped together, they will overlay
one another on almost the same areas,” said Sunita Narain, director,
CSE, speaking at the release function.
The CSE report echoes her: “The three tribal-dominated states of
Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are the most productive
mineral-bearing states as well; also, the forest cover in these states
is far higher than the national average,” it says.
Orissa, for instance, accounts for 7% of India’s forests and 11%
of its surface water resources – it also holds 24% of India’s coal, 98%
of its chromite and 51% of its bauxite. Mineral industries are,
naturally, flocking to the state.
But for all its mineral wealth, the state performs very poorly in
terms of human development indicators. The state has a Human
Development Index (HDI) of 0.404 –worse than that of Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or West Bengal. The CSE report points out that
“Orissa’s per capita income has actually declined during the second
half of the 1990s – precisely the period when the state went on an
industrial overdrive”.
All the mineral-rich districts of the state feature in the list of 150 most backward districts of the country, says the report.
In Keonjhar, the most mined district in the state, 62% of the
population lives below poverty line. In Koraput, the bauxite capital of
India, 79% live below poverty line. “Statistics indicate that the
income from mineral extraction rarely benefits the regions from where
these minerals come – in fact, poverty is increasing in many of these
districts,” point out the writers of the report.
Bearing the brunt: environment and people
The report paints a horrific picture of the devastation that has
been wrought by mining in the country. The statistics are shocking:
Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced about 2.6 million people – not even 25% of these displaced have been rehabilitated.
For every 1% that mining contributes to India’s GDP, it displaces
3-4 times more people than all the development projects put together.
Forest land diversion for mining has been going up. So has water use and air pollution in the mining hotspots.
Mining of major minerals generated about 1.84 billion tonne of waste in 2006 – most of which has not been disposed off properly.
Orissa has the dubious distinction of clearing the maximum amount
of forest land for mining in the country: of total forest land cleared
for mining in India, Orissa accounts for 17%. The state’s water
resources are as stressed, contrary to the belief that Orissa is
water-surplus.
The state’s hilly terrains, with their natural springs, are being
destroyed by mining, contends the CSE report. Orissa’s second largest
river, the Brahmani, is one of the 10 most polluted rivers in India –
“due to the large-scale mining operations on its banks.”
The state’s 6 million strong tribal population has borne the brunt
of these environmental impacts: mining, says CSE, has displaced about
500,000 people (mostly tribals) in the state.
Employment is a promise not kept
All governments justify mining arguing that the sector will
provide employment, but this is a chimera. The report using government
data shows how employment has fallen in the mining sector as a whole.
The fact is that the modern mining industry does not require
people. Between 1999 and 2005, the value of mineral production in the
state increased three-fold – at the same time, employment reduced by
20%.
In fact, says, Chandra Bhushan, CSE’s associate director and the
coordinator and co-author of the report, “Modern industrial growth
requires resources of the region — minerals, water or energy. It does
not require people. In other words, it does not necessarily provide
local benefits. If it provides employment benefits, it is outside the
poor region in which it is based. In other words, inclusive growth will
require ways to value local resources — be it water, minerals or energy
— so that it gives back more than it takes. The mineral industry
degrades the land, uses local water, but does little to return back
wealth. Worse, the royalty on minerals goes to state exchequers, not to
local communities. This will have to change.”
Is sustainable mining possible?
The CSE report points out that mining cannot be sustainable or
truly environment-friendly: one, because all ore bodies are finite and
non-renewable and two, because even the best managed mines leave
“environmental footprints”. But it also concedes that mining and
minerals are necessary. Adds Chandra Bhushan “The issue is not whether
mining should be undertaken or not. Rather, it is about how it should
be undertaken. It is about ensuring that mining is conducted in an
environmentally and socially acceptable manner.”
The report goes on to recommend a range of policy initiatives that
could help India meet this challenge. Some of its main recommendations
include recognizing people’s right to say ‘no’ (mining should not take
place without the consent of the people); independent, impartial
preparation of EIA reports; disallowing mining in forests; framing
stronger mine closure regulations; and “doing more with less – a key to
sustainable development”.
To buy the report online click here.
