Whose mines are they anyway?
17 Jul 2010
While environmentalists say there is no such thing as sustainable mining - it is an inherently destructive activity - it is equally true that the country cannot grow at the desired rate without exploiting its mineral resources.
The problem lies in the unregulated manner in which mining is taking place across the country, with the greed of a few overriding economic and ecological sense.
The eastern and central states, which abound in mineral resources like coal, iron ore, bauxite, lignite, and other industrially vital minerals, are also among the most backward and ecologically fragile.
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal, the four states worst hit by Naxalite violence, are among the most mineral-rich. It is now standard wisdom to say that the Maoists have managed to take root because the fruits of mining do not reach the local denizens, even as their environment and traditional livelihoods are destroyed.
On the other hand, an enterprising few make money at a dizzying rate, often through illegal mining. What is worse is that much of this product is illegally exported as well, so it doesn't reach Indian industry at all. And of course, the state exchequer is not seeing a paisa of this bonanza.
Among the most infamous in this regard is former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who rose literally from rags to riches almost overnight.
One of the few independent MLAs to ever become a chief minister, he became mines and geology minister under the BJP-led government of chief minister Arjun Munda.
In 2006 Koda withdrew support from the Munda government, and played the numbers well enough to become chief minister himself, with the support of the Congress and other parties. Hanging on to the mines portfolio, he ruled the state for two years, till corruption charges brought him down.
