There is widespread resentment among PRI members in particular and people in general of mines affected area of Angul district, as only Rs 35.28 crore has been utilised out of a total Rs 759.43 crore of the District Mineral Fund (DMF).
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has analyzed the situation of mining-affected areas in Angul district and identified issues where the DMF funds need to be spent. The air and drinking water in Angul-Talcher industrial area are critically polluted. Under-5 mortality rate is high and there are issues like anaemia and malnutrition in the district. There is shortage of doctors by 50 per cent and of nurses by 80 per cent in the district, high number of recorded TB and Asthma cases.
Forty-three per cent of those in the age group of 15-59 years are not employed. Their earning from agriculture in rural areas is low due to pollution and low water availability. 84 per cent rural households earn below Rs 5,000 per month; only about 9 per cent people have completed higher secondary education or completed college.
In a public meeting at Angul , organised by the CSE and attended by members of various PRI members like Sarpanchs, Samiti Members, ward members, members of Citizens Action Forum and mediapersons, the CSE shared its findings . The local intelligentsia also participated in te meeting and shared their concerns.
The CSE presented a report, which is based on the assessment of official district data as well as a one-month long ground survey that CSE conducted. During the survey, discussions were held with various groups of people in mining affected. The CSE study revealed that, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identifies Angul-Talcher industrial area as a critically polluted area. Air pollution is severe here. Drinking water is considered as “poor” when compared to National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) water quality standards. The main source of surface water, the Brahmani river, is also highly polluted due to industrial effluent discharge, fly ash discharges from power plants, which has more than permissible levels of heavy metals, chromium and lead etc.
To add to this, the area is also highly water stressed and all mining affected areas fall in the “poor” category as identified in the district’s own irrigation plan.
Chronic health conditions, particularly respiratory problems such as Tuberculosis (TB) is very high, acknowledged officials of the district health department. People also report prevalence of asthma and respiratory infections in the mining areas. The problem is made worse by the lack of adequate health facilities and doctors. In mining affected blocks, the PHCs are serving 1.5 times their capacity. There is also an acute, nearly 50 per cent, of shortage of doctors in CHCs and hospitals and 80 per cent shortfall of nurses.
The CSE study also reveals that nutrition is a major concern for the district. The under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) in rural Angul is 62, which is more than twice of what is to be achieved under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Besides, nutritional indicators are very poor among children and women. Anaemia is a shared problem among women and children with about 58 per cent of pregnant women and 37 per cent children below the age of five being anaemic. More than 33 per cent children are also underweight. The ICDS infrastructure and resources are inadequate to remedy the situation as there is only half the number of AWCs compared to the requirements. About 50 per cent of the existing AWCs do not have a permanent structure.
Though people complete education till 8th standard (elementary), but after that the education level is very poor. In the 20-39 age group, 82 per cent people are literate but only little above 9 per cent people have completed higher secondary education or completed college. Poor infrastructure of secondary schools is a concern. The number of secondary schools in the district is only 20 per cent of the total elementary schools. More importantly, these existing schools do not have the necessary number of teachers as necessary under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). People in mining areas also reported that teachers are busy with many other works such as voter registration, listings under schemes etc, which keep them away from teaching.
There is a high proportion of non-workers in the working age-group (15-59 years). About 43 per cent people in this age group are not working. Additionally, more than 30 per cent people do not have full-time employment. A major problem in the district is of low earning of majority of people. About 84 per cent rural households earn below Rs 5,000 per month. There is high income instability as close to 60 per cent rural households are manual/casual labourers. People’s earning from agriculture in rural areas is also stressed due to pollution and low water availability. In Chhendipada, the locals are particularly vulnerable.
less than 5 per cent rural households have access to treated tap water. In Kaniha areas, this is less than 0.5 per cent. Most households rely heavily on often contaminated groundwater sources like hand pumps, uncovered wells etc. Almost all people in mining affected areas demand clean drinking water.
Based on the analysis, CSE recommended that Angul’s DMF be invested in the four major areas like nutrition and public health, education, employment and livelihood, drinking water over the next three years.
