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Displacement Due to Mining in JharkhandAuthor(s): Mathew AreeparampilSource: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 24 (Jun. 15, 1996), pp. 1524-1528Published by: Economic and Political WeeklyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4404276

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Displacement d u e t o M i in g i n JharkhandMathew Areeparampil

The history of the indigenous people of Jharkhand s one of struggles against outside exploiters, who have graduallyreduced them to a subordinate position in their own land. Withthe expansion of mining activities, especially with theopening of 5Onewcoal minesin thearea toachievethe targetedproductionby2000 AD, land degradation,air, waterandnoise pollution will attain alarming proportions.This will have serious economic impact upon the villages and theiragrarian population.

FOR a properunderstanding f the problemof displacementof people due to miningwehave to look atit fromthe widerperspectiveofdispossessionthat esults rom uchminingactivities.Displacementbecomes a problembecause of the dispossession that resultsfrom it. In this paperwe shall consider thephenomenon of dispossession of theindigenous people of Jharkhand area inmiddle India due to the gigantic mineralexploitation programmesgoing on in thatregion.

Jharkhandwhich means 'forest tract' isthe ancient name given, as a whole, to theforested upland geographically known astheChhotanagpur lateau orming he north-easternportionof the PeninsularplateauofIndia. Jharkhands one of the richestareasin the whole country, rich in minerals withhugereservesof coal,ironore, mica, bauxiteand limestone and considerable reservesofcopper, chromite, asbestos, kyanite, chinaclay, fire clay, steatite,uranium,manganese,dolomite, ungsten, old,etc. Thedistributionof these minerals is mostly localised. Coalis found in the Gondwana rocks of theDamodarbasin. The well known coalfieldsof the area are Raniganj, Jharia,east andwest Bokaro,Ramgarh,and south and northKaranpura.If Damodar valley iSthe repository of coalresources,Singhbhums averitabfemuseumof non-fuel minerals with huge deposits ofiron ore and sizeable deposits of copper,uranium, hromite, asbestos, kyanite,chinaclay, manganese,etc. The Kolhanseries ofiron ore in Singhbhum s one of the richestiron belts in the world. The Singhbhumcopper-uraniumbelt contains the largestdepositsofcopperanduranium n thecountrytoday. The world's largest deposit of highgrade kyaniteoccurs at Lapsa Buru in theSinghbhumshear zone.Mica is an importantmineral for whosedeposits heJharkhandrea eadsallcountriesin the world. The mica belt covering about3,800 sq km lies in the northernpartsof thedistrictsof Hazaribagh nd Giridih.Bauxiteis found in and around the Pat region innorth-westRanchidistrict.Thus,Jharkhandareahas rich endowments of both metallicand non-metallic minerals. This regionproduces48 per cent of the country's coal,45 per cent of its mica, 48 per cent of its

bauxite, 90 per cent of its apatiteand all ofits kyanite. Further, his region is very richin forests. 84.42 per cent of Bihar's forestarea ies in Jharkhand. inghbhum asAsia'srichest sal forests.The naturalwyealth f this area contrastssharply with the desperate poverty of itsinhabitants. For centuries this region hasbeen the homeland of indigenous peoplesuch as the Santals, Mundas,Oraons, Hos,Gonds, Kharias,Bhuiyas, Bhumij,Birhors,Turi,Sadans,Kamar,Kl'mhars,Kurmis, tc,who arealso knownas adivasiswhich iterallymeans 'original ettlers'.They havea distinctculture and an identity rooted in their landwhich they aredetermined opreserve.Theirsocieties are community-based with landowned communally. Community ife is co-operative and based on sharing, withdecisions taken jointly throughconsensus.They consider their societies classless,egalitarian and close to nature.These indigenous groups comprising85to 90 per cent of the total population ofJharkhandhave been the worst hit by thelarge-scale exploitation of the naturalresourcesof the region through he develop-ment of mines, industries and commercialexploitationof forests.Themajorityof themlive in a state of semi-starvation hroughoutthe year. The remaining 10 to 15 per centof thepopulationof the areaare mmigrantswho migrated o amasswealth orthemselves.The history of the indigenous people ofJharkhand s one of struggles againstsuchoutside exploiters whom they contemp-tuously call 'dikus'. These dikus havegraduallyreduced them to a non-dominantposition [Areeparampil1989: 13-38].

MINERALXPLOITATIONInthenameof 'nationalnterest' harkhandarea switnessingagigantic ndustrialisationand developmental process involving theexploitation of its natural and human re-sources. The opening of coal mining inDhanbadareaduringthe second half of the19th century and the establishmentof theTataIronandSteel Company nJamshedpurin Singhbhum district in 1907 markedthebeginningof the large-scale exploitationofmineralandother ndustrial esources n thisarea.

Coal is the biggest mining industry ofJharkhand.Prior to nationalisation n 1971coal was mined in a haphazardmannerbyprivatemine owners. After nationalisationthe entire coal industry of the region wasentrusted to Coal India (CIL) and its sub-sidiaries (excepting a few captive mines ofTISCO and IISCO). Coal India owns andoperates 494 mines and 15 coal washeriesthrough its subsidiary companies. From amere72.95 mt in 1970-71, coal productionhas quadrupled o around305 mtper annumtoday. It is poised to touch 417 mt by theyear 2000 AD. Over 60 percent of this isexpected to come from open cast mining[Tandon1990:23]. At presentmassive pro-grammes ncollaborationwith multinationalcompanies are going on for the exploitationof the coal wealth of Jharkhand.After coal, iron ore is the next importantmining industryof the region. Mining ofiron ore in Singhbhumarea started at thebeginning of this century. At present arge-scale mining is going on at Gua, Jamda,Noamundi. Chifia, Manoharpur,KiriburuandMeghahatuburu. hese minescontributeabout 40 per cent of iron ore produced nIndia.Most of the ore is consumedby steelplantsatJamshedpur,BokaroandDurgapur.Copper s avery importantmineral oundin eastSinghbhum.This areahas beena siteof extensive mining activityforalong time.Ancient pits. rock dumps and slag heapsscatteredover this tract date between 2000BC and 6th century AD. In recent yearsminingactivities nmanyoldworkingshavebeen revivedby the HindustanCopperandcontinuousproduction s maintainedby thefive operating mines at Rakha, Kendadih,Surda, Pathargoraand Mosaboni.

The mica belt of the region supplies 71per cent of the world's high quality sheetmica.Themajorminingactivitiesarecentredin the Kodarmareserved forest area lyingnorthof Kodarma overinganareaof 147.61sq km.Othermica producingcentresof theregionareChatkari,DomchanchandDhab.The mica godowns anddressingindustriesare located mainly in Kodarma, JhumriTilaiya, Domchanch and Giridihtowns.Limestone is quarried in Singhbhum,Hazaribaghand Ranchi districts.Kyanite sanimportant efractorymineralused in ironand steel industry. It is found mainly in

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Singhbhum district. This mineral enablesthe countryto earn a good deal of foreignexchange. Bauxite quarries are located innorth-westRanchidistrict.Besidestheabove,china clay mining is developed mainly inthe Hat Gahmariaarea of Singhbhumandin Palamau, Ranchi and Santal Parganas.Fireclay miningand ts associated ndustrieshave developed in the Damodar basin inJhariaandRaniganjcoalfields. Mining andprocessingof manganese,apatite,chromite,quartz, silica, steatite and asbestos havedeveloped on a large scale in various partsof Singhbhum.Sizeable productionof silicasand comes from Sahibganjdistrict. Rockphosphate is mined in Palamau area. TheUraniumCorporation f India,apublicsectorundertaking, has established a uraniumprocessing plantatJaduguda n east Singh-bhum and has started mining uranium atBhatin, Narwapahar,Turamdih and otherareas of this district.The industrialandscapeof Jharkhand asundergone onsiderable hangeduring ecentyears mainlyaroundJamshedpur.Rourkela,Ranchi,Bokaroand n the coal miningareasof Dhanbadand Ramgarh.The large-scaleindustriesof these centres arebased mostlyon the vastmetallicandnon-metallicmineralresources available in the area. All thesecentres have attracted a large number ofotherindustriesntheir uburbs ndadjoiningareas. The non-metallic mineral industriesare mainly situated in the Damodar basincentredaroundDhanbadandRamgarh.Theimportantnon-metallic mineral industriesincludecementfactories atJapla,Jhinkpani,Sindri, Khalariand Rajgangpur, fertiliserfactoriesat Sindri andRourkela,refractoryworks at Dhanbad and Ramgarh, glassfactories at Kandra and Bhurkunda,micaindustriesatJhumriTelaiyaand Giridihandcoal washeries and coke oven plants inHazaribagh nd Dhanbaddistricts.Besides,a large number of medium and smallindustrial hubs of forest and agriculture-based industries, small engineering andmanufacturing ndustries, chemical indus-tries, etc, have developed at other centresof the region.Large thermal power generating plantshave beenbuilt atBokaro,Patratu,Chandra-pura, Sindri, etc, and hydro-electricity isgeneratedby the DamodarValley Corpora-tionatitsvariousplantswhichsupplypowerfor industries in Jharkhandand adjoiningareas.With the intensification of mining andmanufacturing activities this region hasregistered a phenomenal growth in urba-nisation. From less than 2 per cent at thebeginning of the centuryand 11.5 percentin 1961, theurbanpopulation n Jharkhandhas grown to 21.25 per cent in 1991 ascompared to 16.14 per cent for the wholeof Bihar. The number of towns increased

fromeight in 1872 to 134 in 1991. The urbancentres are chiefly concentrated in theDamodar and Subarnarekha asins whichare the two main mining andmanufacturingzones of the region.The industrialrevolution taking place inthe Jharkhand egion s causing an explosionof various sorts in the area. One can call itan explosion because of its totally un-paralleled cope andthecatastrophicnatureof the changes that it is bringing about inthis region. It is causing an unprecedentedassault on the relatively stable and self-sufficient indigenous people andtheir landand other resources.IMPACT FMINING

For centuries the indigenous people ofJharkhandived in a harmonious elationshipwiththeirenvironment.Since their ives areclosely related o nature,any adverse mpacton the environment n which they live willadversely affect their lives also, and viceversa. The concept of displacementshouldbe seen from the wider perspectiveof thissymbioticrelationship etweenenvironmentand people. The exploitation of mineralresourcesthroughsurface andundergroundmining has caused wide ranging environ-mental problems such as landdegradation,air, water and noise pollution, etc. Theseproblemsare accentuatedby the multipliereffect of miningin a regionwhich hasactedas a catalyst for urbanisation ndindustria-lisation. The direct effects of mining arecompoundedby theindirecteffects of theseinescapable developments.

The arge-scaleminingandalliedactivitiesgoingon intheJharkhandegionhavecausedsevere damage to the land resourcesof thearea.Vastareas f rich orestsandagriculturallands belonging to the indigenous peoplehave been laid waste because of haphazardmining. Underground mining operations,especiallyofcoal,havecreatedunsafe urfaceconditions in many areas warrantingdiversion of roads, railway lines, etc, andthe shiftingof a numberof townships.Over49 localities have been declared unsafe forhumanhabitation n the Raniganjcoalfieldalone. The uniongovernment s reportedlyplanning to rehabilitatethe new town ofMangalpur near Raniganj where 60,000people are affected by mine-related sub-sidence [Anon,1994a]. According to theChariCommitteereport,6,055.5 hectaresofland in Raniganj coalfield and 4,561.14hectares in Jharia coalfield have beenseverely damageddueto subsidence,aban-doned quarries and spoil dumps [Chariet al 1989].Of the 2.13 million hectaresof land inwhich coal is found in India, over 0.36million hectares(16.9 per cent) have beendamaged due to past coal mining activities

[Rehanaand Saxena 1994:235]. Accordingto B P Baliga, formerhead of the environ-mentalengineeringdivision of CMPDI, 'Inthe 1980s the coal mining industrybecameidentified as a majorcause of damageto theenvironment',with more than 75 sq km ofland being destroyedevery year. In a recentpaper,Baliga has pointed out that as earlyas 1973, the following negative effects ofcoal miningover the years came into focus:(a) 651 (352 in ECL 299 in BCCL) aban-doned open cast mines; (b) 6,898 (4,343 inECL, 2,031 inBCCL,524 in CCL) subsidedareas due to past underground miningoperations;(c) 1,101 (370 in ECL, 631 inBCCL. 100 in CCL) abandonedexternalreject dumps; (d) 70 mine fires coveringanarea of 17.32 sq km in Jhariacoalfield,eight mine fires each in Raniganj, EastBokaro and Karanpura coalfield [Baliga1994]. As a result, more than 122 sq kmofareabelongingto CILalonehas nowbecomederelict.The large-scale mining operationsgoingon in the region have adversely affectedgroundwater table in many areas with theresult that the yield of water from the wellsof adjoiningvillageshasdrastically educed.Further, ffluentsdischarged romminesiteshave seriously polluted the streams andundergroundwatersof the area.Acid minedrainage, iquideffluentsfromcoalhandlingplants, colliery workshops and mine sitesand suspended solids from coal washerieshave caused serious water pollutionin theregion, adversely affectingfish andaquaticlife.The Damodarriver, the majorsource ofwater in the region, is perhaps the mostpolluted river in India. It receives wastesfrom the many industries situated on itsbanks. A study of the area showed that asingle coal washerywas dischargingabout40 tonnes of fine coal into the Damodarevery day.Thereare as manyas eleven coalwasheries in the region with an annualinstalled capacity of 20.52 million tonnes[Singh J 1985:217]. Todaythe DamodarorDamuda, considered a sacred river by theSantal tribals, is quite like a sewage canalshrunkenand filled with filth and rubbish,emanating obnoxious odours.

Othermajorrivers of the regionarealsoseriously polluted. The Karoriver in westSinghbhum s pollutedwithred oxide fromthe iron ore mines of Noamundi,Gua andChiria. The Subarnarekha shows a dif-ferenttype of pollution, even more hazar-dous than this. Metallicand dissolved toxicwastes from TISCO,Jamshedpur ndHCL,Ghatsila and radioactive wastes from theuraniummill andtailings pondsof the UCILat Jadugudaflow into Subarnarekha ndits tributaries. Millions of people livingalong the banks of these riversare compel-*led to drink water which contains the

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radioactive and chemically contaminatedwastes.Miningand allied operationsare causingseriousairpollution ntheregion.Open castquarries, coal washeries, thermal powerplants,coke-oven plants, cement factories,fertiliserplant,etc, contribute o serious airpollution.VICTIMSOF DEVELOPMENT

The large-scaleexploitationof thenaturalresourcesof the region through the deve-lopment of mines, industries, etc, has ad-versely affected the indigenous people afJharkhand.They are systematically andmethodically being dispossessed of theownershipof their means of production,ofthe products of their labour and of thevery means of humanexistence. They aredispossessed of their political autonomyand their communities broken up in thenameof 'development' or'national nterest'.A new type of internal colonialism isbeingunleashedon thembytherulingclassesof thecountry.Thenew liberalisationpolicyof the government and the opening of theminingsectorto privateconcerns andmulti-national corporationswill lead to furtherdestruction of the area by these vestedinterests.

LAND ALIENATIONANDDISPLACEMENTThe indigenous people have a specialrelationshipwith their land. To them landis not simply a factor of productionas it isfor otherpeople, but a sourceof spirituahtyas well. Regarding ownership of land the

indigenous people have different concepts,often incomprehensible o outsiders. In thefirst place, ownership of land is vested inthecommunity.No individualhas the rightto permanentlyalienate the land from thecommunity. The tribe is the trustee of theland it occupies. The community or tribeincludes not only the living members butalso the ancestors and future generations.That is why for the indigenous people landand blood are homologous. Their society,culture, religion, identity and their veryexistence are intimately linked to the landthey hold.To separatethe indigenous people fromtheir and s tantamount otearing hemapartfrom their life-giving source. But colonialexploitation of their territory has meantprecisely that for many of the indigenouspeople of Jharkhand egion. A numberofthem have been illegally dispossessed oftheir land.Many have been forced to leavetheir homes to work in the brick kilns andstonequarriesof northBihar,West Bengal,UP, Punjaband otherplaces as contractandeven bonded labourers.A though he exactextentof landalienationanddisplacement s difficult to ascertain,we

shalltry o get a roughpictureof the situationby examining the extent of displacementcausedby some of the majorprojectsof thearea. One of the major causes of landalienation and displacementin the area isthemining ndustry,particularly oal. Inthepast,vast tractsof the coal bearingareasofDamodarValleyhadbeenacquired y privatefirms often by fraudand turned nto waste-lands by haphazard mining. After thenationalisationof the coal industry he coalmining in this regionwas entrusted o CoalIndia (CIL) and its subsidiarycompaniesBCCL, ECL, and CCL.These coal companies are at presentacquiring xtensive andareasanddisplacinga large numberof families. According o anestimate,between 1981and1985,theCentralCoalfields acquired1,20,300 acresof land.Similarly, Eastern Coalfields has acquiredabout 30,000 acres during the Sixth Planperiod.More han32,750 families have beendisplaced. But Coal India could offer jobsonlyto 11901displacedpeople Governmentof India 1985].A study by CMPDI has envisaged thatupto 1994-95 the totalland requirementorcoal projects in Jharkhandarea would be62,642 hectares of which 22,843 ha (37percent) would be forest land. Out of this11,909 hectares of forest land and 26,576hectaresof non-forest landwould be takenup by coal projects n the Karanpura alleyalone [Tandon G L 1990:29]. The Raj-mahal Coal Mining projectof ECL in theGodda district will displace about 6,000people from seven villages. In this projectthe pit area underproposedmining covers5.5 sq km.The PiparwarCoal Project, ocatedin theNorthKaranpura alley, covers an area of6.38 sq km with mineable coal reservesof197 million tonnes. The Piparwaropen pitmine started n January1990 is the first ofwhatcould beno less than24 new coalmineswhich would rip the valley from one end tothe other o yield29 tonnes of coal annually.Accordingto official claims theprojectwilldisplace 460 families from two villages.However,unofficialreports ay that at least15,000 people from 14villages and hamletswill be severely affected by the mines, thewashery and other auxiliaries.The projectiscausingseveredamage othe environment- 289 hectaresof reservedforestsarebeingclear-felled for theconstructionof the mineand other facilities. The coal producedatPiparwarwill be transportedo two thermalplantsnear Delhi for generatingelectricityfor the use of industry and domesticconsumersin Delhi. All this would happenat the terrible ost of environmental estruc-tion and social damage in the entire northKaranpura alley.ThenorthKaranpura alleycontainssomeof the best rice lands and forests in Hazari-

bagh district.The valley is also uniqueinits archaelogical significance. Recently,exquisite pre-historic rock paintings havebeen discoveredin cave sheltersat Isco andThethangi n the easternpartof the valley.Further, ncientstoneimplements, ronslagandburialgroundshavebeen oundatseveralplaces close to the Piparwarmine site. Allthese remnantsof a rich and long culturalhistory are threatened with imminentdestructiondue to the project.Accordingto theDirectory of Mines andMineLeases published n 1976 bythe IndianBureau of Mines there were about 300mines operating in Singhbhum and morethan 1,51,000 acresof land were leasedout,owned mostlybyprivateagencies.However,the total land area affected by mining ismany times greaterthan the simple leasearea. A lot of land is illegally mined byprivate contractors. Besides, land is alsoconverted nto roads, townshipsforminers,infrastructure or administrativepurposes,stockyard orpreliminaryprocessingopera-tions,etc. Further, isposalof miningdebriscreatespollution ndmakesagriculturalieldsinfertile forcing the people to abandonoralienate their lands and move out to otherareas.The Uranium Corporation of India(UCIL), situated at Jaduguda in eastSinghbhum is the only producer in thecountryof the vital nuclear fuel needed inall atomicreactorsfed by naturaluranium.Presently,UCILoperates wo minesatJadu-gudaandBhatin,auraniummill atJadugudaandplants oruraniumby-product ecovery.Thecompanyhas startedworkon settingupnew undergroundmines atNarwapahar ndTuramdih, mill atTuramdih tanestimatedcost of over Rs 4,950 million.Exact figures arenot yet availableaboutthe extent of land alienationanddisplace-ment dueto uraniumminingandalliedacti-vities. UCIL has taken over five villagesbelonging to the indigenous people for set-ting up the mines, the processing plant,colony and the township at Jaduguda.Ac-cordingto the 1961 Census the totalpopu-lationof these villages was 2,047, of whom47.1 percent were tribals.mainly Santals.Many indigenous families were displacedfrom their ancestrallands due to the con-struction of mines and mills at Bhatin,TuramdihandNarwapahar.They have notyet been properlyresettled, nor have theyreceived full compensationfor their lands.Many of them are living on vacant landsalong the railwaylines and roadsidesnearthe Sundernagararea.Due to the mining and processing ofuranium n their areathe indigenouspeopleand others living at Jadugudaand nearbyvillages have becomethe immediatevictimsof the hazards of radioactivity.They aremeeting a slow, agonising death due to

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radiation and contamination of their en-vironment.Life-giving sources such as air,water,animals,fishes, plants,etc, have beenaffected. Known and unknown diseaseshave spread into the villages ringing theknell of death [Areeparampil1993:33-47;Anon 1994b].The growth of mining activities in theregion has acted as the most powerfulstimulant nthe emergenceof new industriesand in the growth of new urban centres.These in turnhavecaused furtheralienationof indigenous people's land and theirdisplacement. Thus, the Damodar Valleyproject (DVC) alone has displaced 93,874persons from 84,140 acres of land in 305villages. Of these 37,320 acres were culti-vated land [Singh 1985:223]. For the con-structionof Rourkelasteel plant,minesandthe Mandira dam 32,567.71 acres of landwere acquiredresulting n the displacementof 4,251 families of which 2,074 familiesbelonged to ST. The Heavy EngineeringCorporation stablishedatHatianearRanchiin 1958 displaced 12,990 persons, whobelonged mostlytoOraonand Munda ribes,from9,200 acresof land.For heconstructionof Bokaro Steel plant 30,984.22 acres ofland from 46 villages were acquired dis-placing 12,990families, 2,707 ofthem ribal.The rapid expansion of industries andmines in Jharkhandwas followed by aphenomenalgrowth in urbanisationand alarge-scale influx of outsiders to the area.This in turnhas resultedin increased landalienation and displacement of indigenouspeople. This displacement caused by theexpansion of the industrial-urbansectorfurther resulted in many cases in themigration of indigenous people to outsideregions in search of livelihood. Theimmigrant utsidershavelegally orbyfrauddisplacedthe indigenous people from theirhabitat.Theextentof theinflux of these outsidersto the areacan be seen from the fall in theproportion of STs and SCs to the totalpopulation of the area: in Singhbhum theproportionof STs and SCs fell from 58.54percent in 1931 to 47.38 percent in 1991;the proportionof ST alone fell from 54.08percent in 1931 to 42.28 percent in 1991.The situation is similar in other parts ofJharkhand.Districts like Dhanbad,Ranchiand Hazaribaghhave also had very greatincrease nthenumberof immigrants.About32 percent of the people living in Dhanbaddistrict in 1981 were in-migrants. During1981-91 alone the proportionof STs to thetotal population in the whole of Chhota-nagpurand SanthalParganas ell from30.26per cent to 27.67 per cent. This clearlyshows the rapid increase in the influx ofoutsiders.The displacement of indigenous peoplecan also occur through ndirect pressureon

their ives by the establishment f industries,mines, towns, etc. One such factor whichforces them to move out of their habitats spollution of air and water.For example, thecement dust from the ACC cement factoryat Jhinkpani n Singhbhum s polluting theairandmakingvast areasof agriculturalandpractically seless. Besides, headivasishavean aversiontowards he dikus and move outof theirareasbecause of conflict of cultureswhen the dikus become a majority. Theincreasing criminalisationof society in theindustrial-urbanectordue o robbery, oon-daism, prostitution, ommunal riots, etc, isanother reasonwhy the simple indigenouspeople opt out of such areas. This negativeurban pressure is accompanied by risingprice offers by speculators for their land.These push and pull effects have indirectlyforced the indigenous people to move outof their hearths and homes.

ENSLAVEMENT F INDIGENOUS EOPLEInthe nameof 'development' or 'nationalinterest' the Jharkhandarea is witnessingnot developmentbut the rapeof its peopleandof its naturalwealth througha processofcolonialist andcapitalist xploitation.Thebrutality nherent in the process of indus-trialisation- the plunderingof its mineralwealth, and the decimation of its forestswhich providedmuch of the livelihood forits people,has notonly reduced hemajorityof its inhabitants o destitutionbuthas alsobrought he area o thebrinkof anecologicaldisaster.The large-scale capitalist exploitationof

the wealth of Jharkhandequires vastarmyof cheap casual labour. The indigenouspeople who are reducedto destitutionareforced to accept this role. The capitalistdevelopment and exploitation thus form avicious circle for the indigenous people. Onthe one hand, t has rendered verincreasingnumbersof them destitute hrough viction,destructionof their sources of livelihood,etc, and on the other, it has utilised theirdestitute condition to employ them for aspecific role in this process, namely,that ofsweat labourorproletariat.Moreover, veryattempt is made to keep them in such asituationbecausewithout hemremaining nsuch a state, no so-called 'development' ispossible.The New NationalMineralPolicyannoun-ced by thegovernment n March1993 withmuch fanfare is designed to attractprivateand multinational nvestors for large-scaleexpansion of mineral exploitation in thecountry.India is a majormineralproducer.It is the world's fourthbiggest producerofhard coal and bauxite and fifth in terms ofiron ore. Since all these majormineralsareminedmostlyfrom the Jharkhandegionthenew mineral policy will have far reaching

consequences or heenvironment ndpeopleof this area.The dominant mining companies of theworld are now showing great interest inIndia, especially in the Jharkhand egion.The White Industriesof Australia and theCanadianMet-Chemcompanyhave alreadytaken up projects in the coal sector. The.PiparwarCoal Project, is beingjointly runby CIL and the White Industries.The totalcost of the project s estimatedat Rs 542.43crore. The Australianaid component willbe A$206 million, threequartersof whichwill actually be spent inAustraliaon designand implementation.The Australianbusi-ness interestswill make a substantialprofit(more hanA$150million) from his project.The RajmahalCoal Mining project, oneof India's largest open pit mines, is anambitious hi-tech project in one of thecountry's poorest districts, Godda. Met-Chem,a Canada-basedmultinational ervesas collaborator-consultant o ECL in thisprojectand has been awardeda contractofC$166millionbyCIL.According o arecentstudy,Met-Chem s aliving exampleof howit is possible to makebig money outof oneof thecountry'spoorestdistricts. n aprojectworth Rs 966 crore the charges made byMet-Chem for consultancy service alonecome to Rs 105 crore. In accordancewiththeagreementMet-Chem s placed nchargeof "procurement f equipment, echnologytransfer, technical consultancy in mining,mine planning,maintenanceand truck dis-patch ystems". neffect,Met-Chembecamepurchaser,middleman,consultant and col-laborator, deadlycombinationas itproved.The multinational has gained enormouslybeing the sole entity in chargeof procuringequipment worth Rs 474 crore. The indi-genous people of Godda district have notbenefittedfrom this great project.The ECLismaking osses. Theonlyvisiblebeneficiaryis the multinationalMet-Chemthat, by itsownadmission, sdoingokay[Sainath, 993aand 1993b].It is reported hat Coal India is planninga massiveexpansionprogramme f its coalmining operations in the Jharkhandandadjoiningareas. The total costs of the pro-posed programme,known as 'Coal SectorRehabilitationProgramme', reestimatedataboutUS $1.9 billion. The estimated oreignexchange requirementsare about US $1.1billion. Part of the financingwould be pro-vided through a World Bank loan of US$400 million and an IDA credit of US $25million, most of which will be used forpurchase of machinery and for technicalassistance from multinationalcompanies.The proposedain of theproject s toimple-ment variousreformmeasures o make coalindustry commercially viable and finan-cially self-sustaining. Some of the plannedreform measures are: closure of old mines

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and opening of new economically viablemines, mechanisationof mining operationsand retrenchment f workers.All thesewillhave tremendous adverse impact on theecology and on the people of Jharkhand.While the multinationalsand the commer-cial and industrialsectors will amass hugeprofits, a large number of indigenouspeople of Jharkhandwill be driven out oftheir homelands and deprived of theirsources of livelihood.Accordingto press reports he UK basedRTZ Corporation,one of the two largestmining conglomerates in the world, andnotorious orvarioushuman ightsviolations,has recentlyheld discussionswith the Indianand Orissa state governments on thepossibilities of mining iron ore in provenareas. Internationalenvironment pressuregroupsandhumanrightsorganisations, uchas Minewatchand Partizans- both basedlin London, monitoring global mining in-dustry arewatchingwith greatapprehen-sion the proposedentryof RTZ into India.Theseorganisations avedocumentedRTZ'srecent involvement in the violation ofindigenous people's rights, the allegedcontributionof the corporationto the warin Papua New Guinea, environmentaldestruction n south Americaandsouth-eastAsia, and the export of toxic wastes. Thecompany was fined in 1988 and 1990 forbreaches of health and safety regulations.The developed countrieswith one-fourthof theworld's populationconsumed 75 percent of the mineralsproduced n the world[United Nations 1992:35]. As the depositsof minerals n these countriesaregraduallygettingdepleted.miningmultinationals ikeRTZ are looking tor huge, cheapandeasilyexploitable mineral zones. Their eyes arenowturned o countries ike Indiawhich hasvast potential for mineralexploitation. Asa result of the new mineral policy whichencouragesthe entryof multinationals ntothe mining sector therewill be an unprece-dented assault on the mineralrich areas ofthe countryby these companieswhose onlyinterest s to maximise heirprofits,whateverthe cost.TheentireJharkhandrea, ich nminerals.will be now thrown open for plunder andloot by these vested interests.With the ex-pansionof miningactivities, especially withtheopeningof 50 newcoal mines in the areato achieve the targeted productionof 417Mtcoal by 2000 AD, landdegradation,air,water and noise pollution will attain alar-ming proportions. t is estimated hat he rateofdegradation f landwill intensifyto 1,400hectaresayearormore[Rehanaand Saxena,1994:235].This will have serious economicimpactupon the villages and their agrarianpopulation. The existing agriculturalandforest lands will shrink further with theeventual emergence of more wastelands.

More and more indigenous people will beforced to move out of their hearths andhomes to brickkilns, stone quarries,etc, insearch of livelihood. Their wealth will beforcibly taken away from them leavingbehind heartbreak,destruction and degra-dation. As things are, thereis little hope ofbetter future for the deprived indigenouspeople of Jharkhand.The gaping holes ofabandonedpits scatteredall over Jharkhandleft after he plundering f its mineralwealthsymbolise the ultimate ateof the ndigenouspeople of this region.References

Anon( 994a): 'SubsidenceFearsnIndia',MiningJournial (London), March 11.- (1994b): 'Uranium Eaters, Radio-ActiveContaminationRavages50Villages in Bihar',TlheWeek, June 26.Areeparampil,Mathew 1989): 'Industries,Minesand Dispossession of Indigenous Peoples:The Case of Chhotanagpur', n Walter Fer-nandes and Enakshi Ganguli Thukral (eds),Developmizent,Displacemnentantd Rehabi-litation, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi,pp 13-38.- (1993): 'The Impact of Uranium Mining andProcessingon the IndigenousPeopleof Singh-bhum District in Chhotanagpur', n WalterFernandes (ed) Thie Inidigeentous uestiotn:Search oran Identitiy, ndianSocial Institute,New Delhi, pp.32-47.Baliga, B P (1993): 'Crisis n the UpperDamodarValley - Need for Environmentally Sound

Mining Preserving NaturalHeritage', Paperpresentedduringa workshopon Crisis of theUpper Damodar Valley: Cultural and Eco-logical Implicationsof Mining held at IndiaInternationalCentre, New Delhi on July 10.Chari,K S R et al (1989): Reportof the ExpertCommittee n RestorationofAbandonedCoalMines A project proposal submnittedbyCMPDI.Dhar, B B (1990): EnivironmentalManagementof Mining Operations Ashish PublishingHouse, New Delhi.Dhar, B B and N C Saxena (1994): Socio-Economic Impact of Environment,AshishPublishing House, New Delhi.Government of India, (1985): Report of theCommittee on Rehabilitation of Disp acedTribalsDue toDevelopmentProjects,Ministryof Home Affairs, New Delhi.Rehana, Abidi and N C Saxena (1994):'Reclamationof Degraded Mining Areas' inB B Dhar, and N C Saxena, 1994, op cit.pp 233-47.Singh, Jagadish 1985): UpperDamodarValley:A Study n SettlementGeography,Inter-IndiaPublications, New Delhi.Sainath,P(I 993a): 'CanadianCompanyOfficersSole Beneficiaries', Times of Itdia, October23.- (1993b) 'The Curious Tale of Met-Chem',Timzes f India, November 2.Tandon,G L ( 1990): 'Scenarioof EnvironmentalStatus in Coal Mining in India' in B B Dhar,op cit, pp 17-57.United Nations (1992): HumnanDevelopmentReport 1992, Oxford University Press, NewDelhi.

NEW Poverty and EmploymentEdited byK. Raghavan & Leena Sekhar

This book is a collection of papers presentedat the NationalConferenceon Poverty and Employment - Analysis of thePresent Situation and Strategies for the Future held inNewDelhiin March1995.Contnrbutorsnclude:S.P. Gupta AjitMozoomdar AmitabhKundu BhaskarDatta.C.H. HanumanthaRao . K.M. Chadha . G.S. Ram . P.K. Ray..S.C. Jain . K.L. Datta * Nilakantha Rath . SubrataDhar * UmaDattaRoyChoudhury M.S. Bhatia . P.K.K.Nair. B.T. Acharya. Mahavir ain U.C. Dikshit81-224-0928-8 1996 528pp HB Rs. 500.Q NEWAGEINTERNATIONALP) LIMITED,UBLISHERS4835/24 AnsariRoad,Daryaganj,New Delhi 110 002.Phones: 3276802, 3261487

1528 Economic and Political Weekly June 15, 1996