Odisha has 58 varieties of major and 22 varieties of minor minerals deposits. In 2011-12, the State stood second in terms of mineral production of the country. The mineral reserves include bauxite, iron ore, manganese, coal, chromite, lime stone, graphite and tin, etc.
Mining activities in the State date back to 1948 when the first coal mining in Talcher block of Angul district was started. The mining activities have picked up since the 50s and with mechanization in the 90s the sector has taken a giant leap.
The mining activities are administered by the Central Act, Mines and Minerals Regulation and Development Act, 1957. The Department of Steel and Mines source says between 1954 and 2004, there are 600 mines in the State having a lease area of 99 lakh hectares in 24 districts including Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Angul, Jharasuguda, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Koraput and Jajpur. Baring a few underground mines of coal and chromite, most of the mines are open cast which is a major reason of land degradation due to ground breaking. The lease area officially displayed and the operational area have huge difference because of illegal mining and the use of mining project periphery area for dumping, transportation and other related activities. The areas near the projects also getting affected due to land pollution by mining waste, dust and water pollution. It is also reported that due to mining, the ground water level in mining areas has gone down which has huge negative impact over the land use of the area. It can be concluded that the actual land used for mining is much more than the official lease area. The land use by mining companies has been a matter of concern by Mines, Revenue, Forest Department, State Pollution Control Board and local community. The matter of illegal mines has well reflected in recent Shah Commission investigation on iron ore and manganese mines.
The mining lease holders include the Central Government owned companies like MCl, Nalco, NTPC, SAIl, Indian Rare Earth limited, State owned companies like OMC, IDC and Nelachal Ispat Nigam limited and a number of private mining companies of State, National and International giants like Tata, Birla, Vedanta, IMFA, Fecor and Hemco, etc. There are multinational corporations like Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, RTZ, De Beers, who have been pledged to be allotted mines in their respective MoUs and many more are in the process to avail lease. Out of total lease area 99374.148 hectares, the public sector has 51361.23 hectares and the private sector has 48012.918 hectares. It shows the Government owned companies are the major lease holders of mines.
The mining lease area include private areas, agricultural land, habitations and community owned common land and Government land including forest land, waste land and water bodies, etc. It is a well established fact that mines mostly occupy more forest and agriculture land but a major part of the land which has not been recognized is claimed to be private due to non execution of survey and settlement.
It is also found that the assigned land like Bhoodan, ceiling surplus and waste land which are once demarcated for distribution are also being occupied by mining companies through lease.
Mining activities in different stages of mining like pre-mining, mining and post-mining have been affecting the land use rights of the locals through displacement, pollution and creating abandoned mining.
The whole process of mining leads to desertification of the area within the life span of mining. The experience from mining area shows mining has been creating problem of habitations and agricultural activities in a number of ways due to scarcity of land, hike in price, pollution, soil and water and air pollution, water crisis and displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement problems, loss of livelihood of agriculture and forest based communities in the locality.
Out of total mines, 60 per cent are in 5th Scheduled area and 40 per cent of mines are located in non scheduled areas of the State. Most of the mining areas are scheduled area and ex-Gadajata area having huge forest and ceiling surplus land and waste land, which are also not covered under survey and settlement. The areas are also home to Adivasis and Dalits and other farming communities who constitute about 90 per cent of the population those are mostly illiterate and lack awareness about revenue laws and provisions. They have been denied due share in participation of Governance due to historical reasons. A large number of Dalit and Adivasi households are found homestead less and not being getting their Record of Rights over the land they cultivate since generations. Mining has been making them landless and depriving them of getting assigned land and Record of Rights. This has been a major challenge for these communities to get rightful compensation and resettle after being displaced.
The issues of social exclusion, caste-based discrimination and ethnic identity, religion are major problems in relocation and rehabilitation colonies which need special care and protection in rehabilitation and resettlement. The socio-economic condition of SCs and STs in mines areas needs to improve because of their historical marginalization, illiteracy and resourcelessness. There are also primitive tribal groups who are still in sub-human condition and they need very special attention.
Mining areas are also now being considered as industrial hubs with the advantage of mineral availability, water and land. Most companies prefer to setup alumna, aluminum, steel and power plants to easily avail mineral, water and land.
The major mineral belts are in the deltas of Brahmanii, Mahanadi, Baitarani, and Rusikulya. The power plants and aluminum plants need additional area for fly-ash disposal.
The additional requirement of land for mineral based industries in mines areas has been adding more problems to the local people already burdened with land issues. It is reported in places like Jharasuguda, Angul and Sundargarh that people once displaced by mining are again being displaced by mineral industries. CSR and periphery development funds are not used for the local community rather it has been spent for the welfare of the employee, Government officials and the people settled in the new mining township. It has been observed that the hospitals and educational institutions run by companies are limited to company employees only and that services are not extended to local people. Even funds are being spent outside the district in Bhubaneswar and Puri for other purposes. The original natives of the area are pushed to the outskirts and even missing once the project is set up. The Rehabilitation and
Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) headed by RDC has no data about the periphery development and CSR programme funds and its utilization. Though it has been told that the local people have share in employment but there is no institutional mechanism to monitor and ensure the mandate of the mining companies for the local people. Coal Bearing Area (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957 and land Acquisition Act, 1894 administer land accusation but absence of institutional mechanism to monitor post land accusation verification process makes the laws toothless.
In the pre mining stage the thrust should be on land reform and land distribution. The Government should ensure survey and settlement and ensure record of rights of all the natives in the locality and by that ensure the process of free and fair compensation because the compensation are mostly land based. The land settlement and distribution programme should be completed in all mines areas before mining lease to ensure homestead land and agricultural land to all landless families.
The Government can plan for large colonies, cities, habitations with all basic facilities. Cooperative farming should be encouraged by providing land in a particular patch to farmers by forming farmer society or company for integrated agricultural activities. They should be provided all facilities like capital for land development, irrigation, crop insurance, and marketing of agri-products, seeds, fertilizer, pesticide, and agricultural appliances.
Certain percentage of the profit out of mines, CSR and periphery development funds should be used for land reclamation and development by which land can be created for further use. The resource management should be decentralized with more power to State and local bodies.
There must be inter-departmental coordination and authority like Mines Area Development Board. The Government should have a highly technical committee to assess the land requirement of a mining company and after lease institutional mechanism needs to be set up to monitor the actual possession. Strong laws are required to punish the companies who are using land beyond their lease area. The local revenue authorities and Panchyatiraj Institutions should be empowered with adequate power to manage. The proposed ‘Right to fair Compensation, Resettlement, Rehabilitation and Transparency in land Acquisition Bill’ by Central Government can be used as an legal instrument by incorporating all these concerns and the State Government’s R & R policy and other land related laws like OlR Act, OGlS Act and OPlE Act need to be changed.
(The writer is chairperson, Odisha Jami Adhikar Abhijan)