Odisha must find Path of Mining that Integrates Protection of Environment, Livelihoods and Human Rights

A lot of media attention has been focused on distress experienced by these communities during droughts or in other adverse times. While well-intentioned, this may have diverted attention from the wider reality that people here value their sustainable livelihoods and self-reliant life patterns, and more problems are caused to them when they drift away from this, often due to external factors. Of course help is needed and appreciated to overcome some difficult situations. Activities of the welfare state are appreciated. However it is important to emphasize that while people need and welcome genuine help, they do not want any disruption of their time honored life and livelihoods. When I visited several villages of this region several years ago, I documented farming practices of several families which could be improved further with thoughtful ideas aimed at strengthening of such livelihoods and climate resilience.

The government in recent times has often emphasized the importance of higher and better production of millets and legumes. Here in this region, we have many farmers, particularly women farmers, who can teach us a lot regarding this. The government talks rightly of promoting improved self- reliance and climate resilience and here again these farmers including women can teach us a lot as their farming has traditionally been ecologically protective and based mostly on better use of local resources. We talk a lot about biodiversity and protection of diverse seeds, having crop rotations and mixed farming systems that are in tune with soil and water conservation needs of any village; in the traditional system here we already have a lot of this. We talk of protecting nature and environment, here in many villages we have the best of this based on regarding forests and water sources arising from there as sacred.

Unfortunately, as huge mining blocks are sanctioned and huge amounts of money is involved, there is a tendency on the part of some of the most powerful persons to ignore all these considerations and push only the large-scale mining interests.

This has already led to a very distressing situation in the Odisha mining belt. Things can be done in a very different way with due emphasis being given to environment, people and all forms of life. The Indian and Odisha democratic systems revealed earlier that they are capable of truly great democratic achievements when about a decade back, during 2013-16 or so, the state and union governments, social and environmental activists, all guided by the Supreme Court could achieve highly democratic processes resulting in decisions to avoid destructive mining practices and protect tribal communities in Niyamgiri. This was a clear victory of protective precepts over money power, a victory of the humble tribal hut over the mansions of the mining billionaires, a victory guided by the Supreme Court of India (over a decade back) which won praise and appreciation all over the world. Now these earlier achievements can be crushed in the new mining areas or even the old protective decisions can be reversed (efforts are already being made for this) if the ongoing acts of repression continue. In the same wider region or neighboring areas where Supreme Court protected village community (gram sabha) decision making had achieved great democratic victory in the context of Niyamgiri earlier, it has been deeply disturbing to hear about reports of faking public hearings and consent of people in recent times.

Several disturbing developments of recent times include arbitrary arrests of community members and activists, even a doctor deeply committed to serving the people (Dr. Randall Sequeira). As per reports, a delegation of senior citizens, comprising retired civil servants and police officers, met the Odisha chief minister in August to check the relentless spread of indiscriminate mining, ignoring essential safeguards to protect concerns of local communities and environment. The government at the highest level should not only heed this advice, but in addition also seek the help of some of these experienced officials to make overdue reforms, starting with the release of arrested community members, social and environmental activists as well community leaders (such as Laxman Naik, Lingaraj Azad and Ladda Sikaka) and of course also Dr. Randall Sequeira. The government rightly calls upon doctors to serve the poor in remote rural areas, it should not at the same time arrest and humiliate those who voluntarily decide to serve the poor in remote villages in the middle of many difficulties. Cases should be withdrawn. Everyone should strive sincerely to make a new beginning to ensure justice based policies in the mining area of Sijimali (also known as Tijimali), Kutrumali and elsewhere.

With the help of communities and activists, retired officials who have demanded reforms in the mining policy, the legal experts who helped with the earlier report of the Centrally Empowered Committee for the Supreme Court on Niyamgiri as well as those scholars who have studied areas like Sijimali, the government should prepare a new mining policy that meets the most essential concerns of the people as well as environment.

The Odisha government should live up to this responsibility. In the past the state government won well-deserved international praise for saving human life in disaster situations. Its officials have shown that they can rise to meet big challenges. Now the challenge is to have a mining policy that can integrate the concerns of protecting livelihoods, environment and human rights. Odisha has the wisdom and capabilities, the officials and the communities and the civil society to achieve this. The Odisha government should be known widely in the near future for such achievements and not for equating spread of mining with repression. Will the state government, helped by the national government, rise to this challenge? Will the courts also continue to live up to the great democratic achievement of the Supreme Court much earlier in the context of Niyamgiri?