Date:05/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/05/stories/2008080557190400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Mining has not benefited the State much, says CSE report

Staff Reporter

Revenue from mining accounts for a minuscule proportion of total income

CSE’s Sixth State of India’s Environment report released
Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced 2.6 million people

Bangalore: Revenue from mining accounted for a minuscule proportion of the State’s total revenues contributing between 0.7 and 0.8 per cent from 2002 to 2005, according to the Sixth State of India’s Environment report, published by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

The report, which was released on Monday, titled Rich Lands, Poor People – Is Sustainable Mining Possible? also draws a direct association between mining and backward districts.

“Bellary district, which contributes the most to the mining industry in Karnataka and the district with the most private aircraft in the country is third from bottom in the Human Development Index (HDI) of districts in Karnataka,” said Chandra Bhushan, Associate Director of CSE. He also mentioned that Gulbarga, which is the hub of limestone mining in Karnataka, is second from bottom in the HDI in Karnataka. Other districts across India such as Keonjhar, Koraput and Jajpur also produce high quantities of minerals, but were among the most backward areas in the world.

Another key finding of the report, which examined mining across the country, questioned the displacement that mining has caused across the country. Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced about 2.6 million people of which not even 25 per cent had been rehabilitated. Fifty-two per cent of the displaced were tribal people.

The report also stated that for every one per cent that mining contributed to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it displaced three to four times than all development projects in India put together. Also, large tracts of forest land were being diverted for mining. In Karnataka, 7,558 hectares of forest land were taken over for mining between 1980 and 2005.

The report states that wealth not going back to the areas from where the mining is being carried out is one of the main reasons for the mining districts to be backward. Mining also does not sufficiently generate local employment, the report states, pointing out the connection between mining areas and naxalism.

Coming down on the report in the panel discussion that followed, David Pichamuthu, Director, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) Southern Region said: “The report must be careful when drawing a correlation between mining and poverty. The report completely ignores questions of governance in the districts concerned.”

He also said that the report had got many of the facts wrong.

Earlier, Sunita Narain, Director, CSE, mentioned that this was the sixth report being brought out by the CSE and the first one was brought out in 1982. K N. Shanth Kumar, chairman, Deccan Herald Group, and H.C. Sharatchandra were present at the release.