Struggles for Safe Mining and Sustainable Development

R.Sreedhar

Trustee, Environics Trust

Convenor, mines minerals & PEOPLE, Delhi

ANROAV 2007, AMRC, Hongkong

Mining in India

• The problem of people in mining is manifold. The destruction of the preexisting habitat for the mining industry undermines the possibility to look for alternatives

• The Mining Industry is wide spread and severe adverse impacts are visible from small scale rat hole mining and stone quarrying to large open cast and deep underground mines.

Mining in India

• The social and political implication of mining assumes far reaching implication when this principal mineral wealth lies in the most forested regions and those homelands traditionally inhabited by dalit and adivasi.

THE SITUATION

• THE GOVERNMENTS ARE UNWILLING TO LOOK AT OTHER OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

• ARE PROGRESSIVELY BINDING THEMSELVES TO SYSTEMS THAT HAVE FAILED

• FOR ANY SOVERIEGN GOVERNMENT THE `SECTORS’ OF THE ECONOMY HAVE NO MEANING, ITS FOCUS MUST BE WELFARE OF PEOPLE

THE OVERALL SITUATION

• COMMUNITIES ARE POOR AND WEAK

• GOVERNMENTS ARE OPRESSIVE, YET THEY ARE LEGITIMATE

• THE MARKET OR INDUSTRY IS OVERPOWERING

THE SITUATION

• LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE CONSTRAINED AND BOUND AT MULTIPLE LEVELS THROUGH VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS– ECONOMIC– SOCIAL– CULTURAL

CONFRONTING THE REALITY

• PEOPLE ALL OVER HAVE BEEN MISLED BY FALSE INFORMATION FROM THE INDUSTRY AND PROMOTING GOVERNMENTS

• INDUSTRY WANTS TO TALK ON GENERAL ISSUES AND DESISTS FROM ANY COMMITMENTS ON MINING SPECIFIC ISSUES

• GOVERNMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY SHOULD ATLEAST REACH RIGHT INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITIES

The beneficiaries

• Investors and Investment Bankers

• Owners and Managers

• Politicians and Contractors

• Consultants

• Reclaimers!

Who’s paying the costs?

• Local Communities

• Workers

• Local Environment

• EcosystemSmall Investors

Minerals for What?

– FROM DIAMOND-STUDS TO CRUISE MISSILES

– METALS AND FUELS FROM NATURE FOR NOW AND IN FUTURE

KEY SEGMENTS

• GOVERNMENTS

• MARKETS

• COMMUNITIES

STATE

– Multi Level• Element of Global Processes

• National Policy & Federal Government

• State Governments

• Local Self-Governing Institutions

– Deepening Sectoralism– Political Uncertainty

SECTORAL GOVERNANCE BINDS

• SECTORALISATION– ECONOMIC– ADMINISTRATIVE– DISCIPLINARY

• MINERAL NEEDS– DOMESTIC– INDUSTRIAL– MILITARY

GOVERNMENT’S FOCUS

• MINERAL AVAILABILITY– BALANCE OF LIFE– `EQUITY OIL’, now COAL also

• ATTEMPT AT FORECASTING?

• EXTENDING OUR HEGEMONY

• MINERAL ECONOMICS– VALUE– INCOMES

MINING INDUSTRY

• COMPLEX STRUCTURE OF TRANSACTIONS– MINERAL IMPORTS AND EXPORTS– DOWNSTREAM ACTIVITIES– EMPLOYMENT

Market is Oligopolistic

• Ten Large Mining MNCs control nearly 90%

• Progressively Greater Consolidation

• Push Policies to suit commercial interests

• Alienated with Larger Community

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

– COMPLEX OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES• MAJORS

• SUBSIDAIRIES

• JVS

• STRATEGIC STAKES

– OPAQUE FINANCIAL TRANSACTION• Primary Markets

• Secondary Markets

• Derivatives

COMMUNITIES

– Economic Differences– Social Grouping– Political Systems– Traditional Communities– Community and State Norms

ECOSYSTEMS

– MAJOR EFFECTS• DEGRADATION• DEPLETION• EXTINCTION

– KEY CONCERNS• DISLODGING STABLE NATURAL SYSTEMS

HARMFUL• RESOURCES ABOVE: ECOSYSTEMS AND

COMMUNITIES• SELECTIVE EXTRACTION AND GENERAL

DEPLETION

VALUES AND VALUATION

• VALUING METHODS

• VALUATION

• VALUES

CURRENT HURDLES

• BUREAUCRATIC GIANTISM

• POLITICAL DESPOTISM

• FINANCIAL OPACITY

CURRENT INFLUENCES

• LARGE CORPORATES

• LEGAL AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMS

• PATRIARCHY

• INTERNATIONAL INTERFERENCE

MINING LAWS

• MINES AND MINERALS (DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION) ACT, 1957

• CESS & OTHER TAXES ON MINERALS(VALIDATION) ACT, 1992

• GOA,DAMAN & DIU MINING CONCESSIONS ACT, 1987

• Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002

RULES• THE MINERAL CONCESSION RULES,

1960 AND ITS AMENDMENTS• MINERAL CONSERVATION &

DEVELOPMENT RULES, 1988• GRANITE CONSERVATION &

DEVELOPMENT RULES, 1999• MINING LEASES (MODIFICATION OF

TERMS) RULES, 1956

RULES

• Marble Development and Conservation Rules, 2002

• Mineral Concession (Amendment) Rules, 2003 dated 10-04-2003

• Mineral Conservation & Development (Amendment) Rules, 2003 dated 10-04-2003

• Mineral Conservation & Development (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2003 dated 17-04-2003

Corollary but Critical Laws

• AIR (Prevention of Pollution) ACT• WATER ACT (Prevention of

Pollution) ACT• FOREST (CONSERVATION ) ACT &

RULES,1980• ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT,

1986• LABOUR AND SAFETY IN MINES

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT NOTIFICATION, 1994

Key element of Public Hearing was Introduced

Currently under threat with revised notifications diluting the procedures

Simplifying for the Corporates

• A major initiative has been in simplifying procedures to introduce transparency and avoid delay in granting different types of leases.

• During 2001-02 to 2005-06 a total of 1172 PLs were granted over an area of 133743 hectares in twelve states viz. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttaranchal, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Gujarat & Jharkhand.

IMPORTS – Just Oil & Diamonds

Andhra Pradesh

• Bauxite • Coal • Uranium• Stone Quarry - Kuppam

Maharashtra

 • Stone Quarry• Bauxite

Rajasthan

 • Stone Quarry• Marble• Oil Refinery • Mining Cooperative• Floods

Delhi

 • Stone Crushers• Mining Policy 

Goa

 • Iron Ore Mines

Karnataka

 • Iron Ore• Gold• Granite Quarry

Orissa

 • Bauxite• Iron Ore

Uttarakhand

• Askot • Kataldi• Dunagiri• Aseena

West Bengal

 • Sahasratoli

Jharkhand

 • Jadugoda• Roro• East Parej

Meghalaya

 • Domiasat• Coal• Limestone

Summary of Actions

• Local Mobilisation

• Parallel Research and Analysis

• Campaigns at State – Central Level

• Legal Interventions – Appellates & Courts

• International Campaign – Shareholder Action; UN and other Agency Petitions– And yet it is like fire-fighting, hence

Thematic Action Areas

• Women and Mining

• Community Environmental Assessment

• Legal Interventions

• Media and Communications

• Stone Quarry and Occupational Health

• Mine Closures and Community Futures

• Green Field Areas