The apex court’s recent verdict allowing the Union Government to float global tender to rejuvenate defunct Kolar Gold Field near southern city of Bangalore evokes more than questions on the possibility of its process.
After a walk through the industrial town of KGF, well known as little England, the euphoria of rejuvenation boils down to just political implications rather than any hope in the local population. Twelve years after the shafts stopped working, the intention of the Union Government to call global tender allowing global players from China, Australia, Japan and other countries to come to KGF looks quite planned and well related to the FDI policy of the UPA Government.
Selvam, a worker of the defunct Bharat Gold Mines limited (BGMl), a public sector undertaking, still waits for his VRS dues. He finds this a conspiracy and questions the overall policy of allowing private players instead of rejuvenating BGMl. He said, “I am still awaiting my VRS dues. Why are they bringing some foreign companies instead of starting the BGMlIJ We have seen some companies have come and surveyed the area.”
Today KGF, which was a frontrunner in the gold rush of the past, is a mute spectator to the whole saga of exploitation of natural resources by the colonial rulers. Now streets adorned with huge cut-outs and posters of Union Minister of State for Micro and Small Industries KH Muniyappa and other Congress top leaders, (who hails from KGF), disseminate the UPA policy on FDI in mining sector. For the political bosses the decision to rejuvenate and open this to private sector is historic but many feel it is going to be a historic blunder.
leo Saldanha of the Environment Support Group (ESG), an NGO working in the environment sector, finds this a conspiracy. He says the Government instead of rejuvenating BGMl, a public sector undertaking, wants global multinational companies to come and take over the gold mines. However, he is concerned about environmental viability of the whole exercise. He said, “After the mining episode in Bellary and SC’s intervention, this seems to me a conspiracy of the Government to bring global players instead of rejuvenating our own PSU. This is one of the deepest mines in the world and has anyone bothered about the environmental impact of such a taskIJ”
According to G Arjunan, CITU district vice president in Kolar, the Government should run the business instead of handing it over to private players looking at the increasing gold prices. He said, “We want Government to run the company. It is profitable. Our resources should not go waste.” A senior official of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on the condition anonymity told The Pioneer it was quite risky and dangerous to revamp gold fields at Kolar. According to him, water has filled in till 11,000 feet depth in the 12,500 feet deep mines which is difficult to revamp. He warns of consequences if the mining commences without taking ample protection to people and surroundings.
According to sources, the ore remaining in KGF is estimated to be around three-million tonnes which could yield low-quality gold and could produce a maximum of 12 tonnes of gold over the next 12 years. The Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), which were nationalised in 1956 and handed over to State-run Bharat Gold Mines ltd (BGMl), were shut down in 2001. After a long legal haul now the SC has allowed the Centre to float global tenders to revive KGF.
