ILLEGAL mining in Orissa was never before as hotly debated as it has been in recent months. Successive governments were always so eager to protect the interests of the companies engaged in mining that reports about illegal mining and smuggling of minerals were never taken seriously. Little action was taken against those who violated mining and forest laws and jeopardised the well-being of the millions who have for generations lived in the mineral-rich regions of the State.
It was in the 1960s, when Biju Patnaik headed a Congress government, that an expressway was built between the mineral-bearing region and the Paradip port, and this road, over the years, has provided the main route for minerals mined in the State to leave the country. Illegal mining caught public attention after opposition parties raised the issue in the State Assembly with some genuine concern in July last year. Before that, scant attention was paid even to the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General about illegal mining.
In the latter half of 2009, opposition parties sent teams to the areas where illegal mining was rampant. It soon became clear that illegal extraction and smuggling of iron ore, manganese and other minerals had been going on for several decades and had assumed serious proportions from the mid-1990s. The past decade saw further escalation in mining activity as the demand for iron ore and other minerals grew in the international market. It also became evident that various departments of the State government had been turning a blind eye to the virtual loot. In the process, the State exchequer suffered immense losses and the local population derived no benefits. Indeed, for the tribal people who had lived on the land for many generations in Keonjhar and other mineral-rich districts, mining destroyed their forest-based economy.
In terms of indicators of overall welfare, villages closer to the mines have poorer health, education and production assets, said an independent study.
The State government initially refused to admit that illegal mining was going on in many backward regions of the State where Maoists had gained a stronghold in recent years. But the growing criticism forced Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to order a Vigilance Department probe in July 2009. After that, skeletons started tumbling out of the cupboards of government departments.
Immediately after the probe was ordered, a few government officials and mining company officials were arrested. But by August, vigilance sleuths stopped all arrests despite registering a dozen cases. However, several months after the scam was unearthed, the Keonjhar district police started arresting small mine operators and those involved in illegal mining, storage and transportation of minerals.
The State government's formal admission of illegal mining came only when the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court started its hearings in the case in December 2009. It admitted to the CEC that a large number of mines had been running illegally for years together and that many mining companies had violated mining and forest rules. The admission did not reflect too well on Naveen Patnaik's slogan of transparency.
The CEC hearings, held on December 16, 2009, and then again on February 22 and April 5 this year, came in response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court in October 2009 by Rabi Das, a senior journalist and president of the civil society organisation Odisha Jana Sammilani. (Incidentally, five public interest petitions, filed in the Orissa High Court by concerned individuals seeking a Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) probe into illegal mining, are pending.)
Rabi Das approached the Supreme Court with the plea that the apex court direct the CEC to conduct a fact-finding study of the illegal mining in Keonjhar, Sundargarh and others districts. He sought the appointment of a commission to investigate and study the modalities of illegal machinations to fix responsibility on individuals in the government and outside it and recommend remedial measures that could be implemented immediately by the Centre and the Government of Orissa.
He also requested the apex court to direct the respondents to take effective steps to stop the illegal mining and prosecute the perpetrators, who had been violating the Mines and Minerals (Development) Act, 1957, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and other relevant laws.
The CEC has submitted an interim report after examining the matter in the three hearings, during which former Advocate-General Jayanta Das, counsel for the petitioner, presented the findings of a study conducted by Jana Sammilani, which had found that 155 mining leases in Orissa had no valid authority.
The CEC's interim report said: Mining activities were going on in a large number of mines in Orissa without requisite approvals under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, environmental clearances, and Air and Water Acts. The mining activities also exceeded the production limit as approved under the mining plans. A large number of mines have remained operational for long periods of time after the expiry of the lease period because of the delays in taking decisions on the renewal applications filed by the respective mining lease holders and consequently the mines becoming eligible for deemed extension' as provided under Rule 24 (6), MCR, 1960.
It also said: A large number of mines are operating in Orissa (also in other parts of the country) after the expiry of the mining lease period. This is being done under the provision of deemed extension' of mining leases provided under Rule 24 A (6) of the MCR, 1960 and is happening because the applications filed for the renewal of the mining leases remain undecided for a considerable period of time after the expiry of the mining lease period. The deemed extension' clause is primarily meant to deal with contingency situation and to ensure that the mining operations do not come to an abrupt end because of administrative delays in deciding on the renewal applications. This provision is not meant to be availed indefinitely. Moreover, continuing mining over a long period of time without renewal of the mining lease becomes a potential source for serious illegalities and irregularities.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that there was a need for a detailed investigation by an independent and competent body as the State Vigilance Department lacked the competent jurisdiction and reliability, especially since the political leadership was involved.
The State government, in its submissions before the CEC on the action taken against those engaged in illegal mining, mentioned the arrests made by the Vigilance Department and said that it had constituted a State-level enforcement squad, and the squad had detected 213 cases since July last year.
The government said that with effect from August 2009, it had introduced newly designed transit passes for use by those transporting minerals from the mining areas to other places in the country and abroad. The government told the CEC that a total of 596 mining leases had been granted to various companies so far, 351 of which had expired.
It informed the CEC that mining activities in 163 mines had been suspended because of the non-compliance of the statutory clearances and other violations. Guidelines regarding the renewal of mining leases had been issued on October 1, 2009. A total of 682 trade and storage licences had been suspended.
However, the State government seems to believe that extraction of minerals drives economic growth and creates jobs for local populations. That unregulated mining benefits only a few is still not accepted by the mandarins in the government who keep sending recommendations to the Centre for grant of mining leases.
In the rush for acquiring mining leases, many new companies were born in the past few years. Many companies, which already had mines in their possession, signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to set up new steel plants. Many of these companies continue to export iron ore and other minerals while their plans for industrial projects remain on paper. Orissa has already signed 49 MoUs for setting up steel plants and MoUs for over 20 coal-based power plants, a few alumina refineries and a port. But the government should realise that those who have come forward to invest lakhs of crores of rupees in these projects are primarily miners whose chief interest will be in extracting minerals.
The Chief Minister has promised action against illegal mining, but many believe that it is now up to the courts to take a final view of the matter and ensure that those who have been looting the State's mineral reserves are punished.
As for the judicious use of the mineral wealth, both the Centre and the State government need to take a fresh look at the mining sector. Those in the government should ask themselves why the vast majority of people living in the mining areas still live in abject poverty.
