As Goa’s mineral resources dry up, miners turn to Maharashtra

Maharashtra has gone the Goa, Bellary way in illegal mining.

And Sindhudurg, probably, tops the chart. The district at the southern-most corner of the state got the eco-tourism district tag way back in 1997. True, it has the largest green cover, but a deeper look brings out grim truths: human rights violation and false Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports to hide illegal mining.

Once neighbouring Goa’s mineral resources started depleting, illegal miners and companies connived with politicians to shift their focus to Sindhudurg, where the mountains are rich in iron ores.

“The hills were leased out for mining to various companies without consulting the villagers,” Rupesh Patkar, a trade union activist of the Communist Party of India (CPI), said. “In some cases, villagers were lured with the promise of big bucks or employment to sell off their land. False EIAs were prepared despite opposition during public hearings and projects like the mine in Kalane were okayed.”

A ministry of environment and forests moratorium has stopped the authorities from giving out new leases. But illegal mining continues in pockets. If the moratorium were to be lifted, the district would have at least 49 mines in operation, Patkar said. “How it would affect the eco system and the extent of the damage is anybody’s guess.”

Last year, Madhav Gadgil, chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), said in his report that work at the Kalane mine began despite villagers opposing the move. The panel submitted the report to the environment ministry last month. It is still to be made public, though.

Stories are no different in Dongarpal and Asaniye. Of 319 hectares of land in Dongarpal, 125 hectares have been leased out to NIMCO. The village with 400 people has a yearly turnover of nearly Rs3 crore through cashew crop. “Do you think we need employment when we already earn so much?” Gunaji Gavas of Dongarpal asked. “The EIA report, we are told, showed our land as barren. Not only that, the report also shows the latitudinal and longitudinal positions of our village somewhere in the Arabian Sea!”

The report said Dongarpal has no high school. But the public hearing for the project was held inside the village high school, Gavas said. “We exposed their lies.”

The companies are so desperate that they use some villagers as middlemen to broker a deal. “Company vehicles are often seen inside villages,” Gavas said. “They usually offer about Rs5 lakh per acre. But everything is done secretly and those who sell their land rarely admit it in public.”

Though no government officials visited Asaniye, an EIA report was prepared. “Since the report had been prepared, the officials were forced to hold a public hearing,” Datta Pokale, a villager, said. “At least 2,000 villagers attended the hearing that lasted for nearly 12 hours. More than 90 of us spoke against mining at the hearing. At least 850 submitted applications along with those from eight gram panchayats against mining.”

Following these incidents, the ministry issued the moratorium on mining leases. Most of the villagers DNA spoke to want the Gadgil committee report to be made public. The villagers have also made up their minds to oppose any move to start mining operations.