By Wanshan B Khardewsaw
Too many voices has been make heard against the NGT ban on rat-hole mining, whose next sitting on the issue was shifted to the June 9, supposedly because of growing opposition against the ruling(ST, 31/05/2014). Even as the voice of the affected lot is never heard, I believe we also have the right to whisper these voices amidst this chaos and loudness, letting the world know that the “voiceless” are also stakeholders in the matter.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the people of Meghalaya as more than three-fourths of the state’s population still lives in rural areas. Majority of our people are dependent on the forest for their day to day needs of food supplement, fodder, medicine, fuel wood and materials for various constructions purposes. Even though the mining methods in the state has resulted in soil disturbance in a big way, resulting in the fall back of agricultural production, almost nothing is being done or taken care of by the administration for so long, thereby hampering the overall economic activities of the people and the sustenance and livelihood of the people and particularly the future generation in the long run, as Agriculture and mining industry, often are the only economic activities in many regions, particularly in tribal dominated regions like the state of Meghalaya.
That mining has become a major source of foreign exchange earnings, employment generation and a very important contributor to government revenues is never denied. In terms of labour, it is a major source of employment generation in this part of the country. However, the benefits of coal mining may be outweighed by the damage done to local communities and their environment. So its relationship to the environment (natural, social and man-made) is both of dependence and of impact. Furthermore, coal mining has of late been seen as a force hastening the destruction and deterioration of the environment and the ecological balance that has been long neglected.
That coal mining activities have certain negative impacts on the environment of a place, the socio-cultural life and even the economic aspects of that place cannot be denied. Much of our valuable flora and fauna have been lost; the delicate habitats being permanently altered, the dumping of non-biodegradable wastes, the over-utilization of our natural resources, the contamination of our air and water bodies, and the like have vastly altered the quality of our environment.
Why is Bangladesh which has very rich deposits of coal is still importing coal from our state? The fact is because of stiff resistance from both local and international societies and organizations to coal mining. We ought to remember that the Asian Development Bank was even forced to pull out of the controversial Phulbari Coal mining Project, which was supposed to provide resources to the 500 MW power project, on April 2nd 2008. This came as a result of the voices that communities around this project have raised, anticipating the threat that their vital agricultural region will turn into an open pit and mine, which would have devastating environmental impact, upon this 5933 hectares (around 60 Km²) of land of which 80% is being used for agricultural activities, and ultimately displace up to 220 million people.
Due to the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, land laws are different in Meghalaya and most of it is controlled by the Autonomous District Councils and their chieftains. Can a local resident of Meghalaya, by virtue of being domiciled in the state, eligible to conduct mining activities? In all probability, the practice is unofficial, though rampant. This has led to the emergence of an unorganized coal mining sector in the state, engaged in mining activities which are highly unscientific in nature. Actually, as said by V.K.Nautiyal, the then Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, none of the coal mines in the area were authorized (State of the Environment Report,2005).
Even though the government had set up an expert committee to address the issue of unregulated mining in the state, as far back as in August 2006, there seems to be no light on the real issue. Even as the government brought out the so called mining policy, it only reminds us that we never meant to protect/uplift the affected “voiceless”. Hence even while coal production in Meghalaya has increased exponentially, the common mass is more exposed to threats from the environment that seems to have multiplied as well.
It is observed that once mining starts agricultural activities cannot continue as the various hazardous elements that comes out along with the highly contaminated water that flows from these mines, literally removes or destroys whatever life that may be usually found. The sulphur in the coal dissolves with the underground water, making it acidic and polluted.
Not only agricultural fields in the immediate vicinity of coal mines are actually affected, but villagers even complain that certain agricultural fields have to be left after cracks begins to show up in major parts of the fields, because of rampant coal mining that goes on beneath the ground, making the ground unstable and unbalanced. Fearing that the ground might actually collapse and fall down anytime, people have to evacuate and leave these plots unused and unattended.
Some farmers actually continue their farming activities, despite the mining activities alongside but again they claim that productivity has gone down miserably and the output is actually negligible compared to what the field used to actually produce prior to mining activities or even when compared to other nearby villages where mining activities are not happening.
In most coal mining regions, the conflict between water and coal boils down to a choice between clean water and regional development. There is actually a debate amongst the locals, of which a majority of them, especially the landless and suffering lot are saying that “We can live without coal, but we can’t live without water and agriculture,” with many respondents claiming that “coal-mining has badly damaged and destroyed agriculture”. This revelation deserves serious consideration and thorough evaluation as to whether or not, our agriculture can be tampered with to the extent of hampering the sustained livelihoods of majority of the farmers, which might even be permanently damaged, if things were allowed to continue unabated. And all this for the revenue and returns that the state is getting from extracting this un-renewable and almost exhausted resource of ours, of which the actual benefits derived are concentrated and accumulated amongst the few.
May I also note here for all those champions of our Jaidbynriew that the problem is not only with our agriculture and water system, but mining has encouraged large scale influx into the mining areas. This is a big threat to the uniqueness and culture of the local people.
(The writer teaches at Sankardev College and can be contacted at [email protected])