What mining is doing in Goa’s tribal areas: Police and Public Health

This paper accounts for some indicators of change in tribal habitation villages of Goa with special focus on Colamb in Rivona Panchayat jurisdiction in Sanguem taluka. The paper is a product of joint efforts of Durgadas Gaonkar, Dr. Avadoot Prabhudesai, Advocate John Fernandes, Rama Velip and Sebastian Rodigues on the occasion of visit of Western Ghats Expert panel members to Goa for a meeting on 27^th September 2010.

The revenue village of Colamb in Sanguem has a population of 2594 people as per 2001 census. 1514 of these belong to Scheduled Tribes communities of Gawda and Velips. The village has a total land of 1929 hectares. The village also has 23 mining leases/concessions granted by Portuguese colonial state before 1961 Goa liberation and are yet to be cancelled by free Indian State. These mining leases cover 1510 hectares of village land. People are dependent upon agriculture and forest for their livelihood. The education level of people here is relatively low. This village is a part of catchment area of Selaulim water dam that supplies water to over 50% of Goa. Nearly 5 mines (efforts are on to start several more) are in operation in the village thereby causing tremendous risk to the villagers life and life support systems. Villagers rose in mass revolt in 2007 and since then continued their agitation pushing the issue of mining in the mainstream political consciousness of Goa. Villagers have been booked under various criminal cases chiefly by the Fomento mining company that operates Hiralal Khodidas mining lease. Various villagers have been affected with negative health effects and hostile socio-economic fallouts.

Quepem taluka has a tribal population of 25,396 people while Sanguem taluka has a tribal population of 15,602 people. Most of whom are either wage employed or self-employed in agriculture as per the Survey report on Scheduled Tribes of Goa (Gawda, Kunbi, Velip) published by department of Social welfare in February 2004. Both these talukas are the targets of predatory mining industry and tribal people have their survival at stake. Colomba village falls in Sanguem taluka but shares border with Quepem taluka.

The legal entanglements

The villagers are target of Fomentos corporate strategy of filing criminal cases against anyone who is involved in protests. Although this is evident all over Goa this paper is restricted in its scope only to Colomba. The company has so far filed 69 criminal cases at Quepem Police station. In all these cases charge-sheets are filed and court cases going on before JMFC Sanguem.

In addition to this Fomentos has also filed civil case no. 23/08 before civil judge, Senior Dvision, Quepem by the legal heirs of Hiralal Khodidas mine Uday Gosalia against 80 people from Colomba. This mine is operated by Fomentos. The corporate hold over the Judiciary can be gazed from the fact that Ex-parte order was granted by Quepem Court against the villagers – without hearing the side of the villagers. Gosalia subsequently has filed two contempt petition against Colomba villagers for violating Court injunction.

The list of criminal cases includes as follows:

1. Case Cr. 43/s/2010 against seven people under section 143, 341, 506, r/w 149 IPC for the offence: restraining of trucks into Hiralal Khodidas Mine and further threatening staff and security personnel of the complainant. Complainant is Chandrakant Patil, Mines Manager of Hiralal Khodidas mine. The seven people in this case includes Egypt D’souza, Rama Velip, Motesh Antao, Dumena D’Souza, Tulsidas Velip – whose house has developed cracks due do blasting by Fometos, Babani Amolkar, and Chandrakala Gaonkar. The complaint filed on 28/11/2008.

2. Case Cr. 15/s/2009 before JMFC Sanguem against Tedoz Antao under sections 341, 323, 427, 506 (II) of IPC. The offence: Wrongful restraining of complainant, assault with fist blows, damage to spectacles. The complainant here is Yeswant Salunke, Security officer, Hiralal Khodidas. He filed this complaint on 14/11/2008 and date of offence allegedly committed is 13/11/2008.

3. Case Cr. 71/s/2008 before JMFC, Sanguem against 7 people under sections 143, 147, 447, 341, 606 (II), 427, 504, r/w 149 IPC. The seven people here includes Egypt D’Souza, Telu Dias, Rama Velip, Motesh Antao, Dumiana D’Souza, Shanta Velip, and Xavier Fernandes. The complainant Surya Naik has given his description on police records as ‘agent of Fomento’. The nature of offence: House and car was damaged by the accused on 13/11/2008. So far ten hearings of this case took place and Inspecting Offfcer (I/O) Arvind Nagekar has remained absent in all instances. As a result judicial process has got stuck and people has to repeatedly make trips to the courts in futility. The ten instances when this case came up for hearing includes 1/12/09, 30/12/09, 12/1/10, 15/2/10, 23/3/10, 26/4/10, 6/7/10, 31/7/10, 21/8/10, and 18/9/10.

4. Case Cr. 70/s/2008 before JMFC, Sanguem against 22 people under section 143, 147, 148, 341, 352, 447, 504, 506 (II) r/w 149 IPC. The 22 people includes Egypt D’souza, Rama Velip, Ruzario Antao, Simao Antao, Chandrakant Gaonkar, Tulsidas Velip, Sulaksha Gaonkar, Tedoz Antao, Vithoba Gaonkar, Vincent Dias, Motesh Antao, Manuel Dias, Dumen D’suza, Purso Gaonkar, Telu Dias, Salvador Dias, Rajnikant Velip, Jason Sequira, Sebastiao D’souza, Natividade Fernandes, Shanta Velip and Palmira Dias. The date of offence is 21/1/2008. The nature of offence is Unlawful Assembly, Armed with dandas, trespass into mining premises, wrongfully restraining complainant, abused him and other mine staff and further came to assault and threaten with dire consequences. The complainant here is Atul Bokade, Mines Manager, Hiralal Khodidas Mines.

5. Case Cr. 1/s/2009 against 17 people under section 143, 147, 447, 341, 506 (II), 427, 504 r/w 149 IPC. The 17 people includes Utabai Velip, Surya Gaonkar, Telu Dias, Egypt D’souza, Kalavati Velip, Vincent Dias, Dumena D’souza, Chandrakant Gaonkar, Premdas Velip, Alexo Dias, Agnelo D’souza, Caitan Barreto, Baby Dias, Bhagirathi Velip, Shanta Velip, Gouca Antao, and Kalidas Naik Gaonkar. Date of offence is 30/12/2008. Nature of offence: Unlawful assembly, trespass into mine premises, wrongful restrained mine workers, abused them with filthy words, threatened them with dire consequences. The complainant here is again Atul Bokade, Mines Manager, Hiralal Khodidas Mines.

6. Case cr. 72/s/2008 against 15 people under section 143, 341, r/w 149 IPC. The 15 people includes Arjun Velip, Tulsidas Velip, Rama Velip, Motesh Antao, Egyp D’Souza, Telu Dias, Vincent Dias, Rajanikant Velip, Salvador Fernandes, Kalidas Velip, Arjun Velip, Kalidas Desai, Puso Gaonkar, Franky Antao, and Arjun L. Velip. Date of offence is 8/10/2007. Nature of offence: Formed unlawful assembly, blocked road, stopped the staff of Hiralal Khodidas mine from entering mine premises. The complainant is again Atul Bokade, Mines Manager, Hiralal Khodidas Mines. Only this case has been closed after being discharged by the court.

All the above cited cases reflect increasing tension in the village created due to mining activities. People’s activities are disrupted due to mining-police nexus. This nexus becomes evident when one examines the record the police in pursuing the cases filed by mining companies’ vis-à-vis cases filed by people against mining companies. Police has 100% follow up to charge-sheet level when it is mining companies are complainants. Police has got 0% record of pursuing the case file by people of Colomba against mining company. People of Colamba has filed number of cases and police are yet to file a single charge-sheet. The villagers complaints can be listed below as follows:

1. On 19/11/2007 villagers of Colomba, Kevona filed a complaint before Quepem police station against Rajesh Zambaulekar and Rupesh Zambaulekar – the mining agents of Timblos and Fomento mine. The nature of offence: Egypt D’Souza was obstructed, pelted stones on his vehicle, threatened and physical manhandling while proceeding from Tilamol to Colomba. Police did not take any cognizance.

2. On 13/6/2008 Gawda, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar Federation (GAKUVED) filed complaint against manger of Hiralal Khodidas mines for releasing water in Paddy fields. Police took no action.

3. On 19/11/2008 Farmers of Colomba filed complaint against Romaldo Rebello, Bostiao Simoes, Mahadev Devidas, Dinu Devidas, Anton, Arun Naik, Ramnath Velip, Kushali Velip, Dyaneshwar Naik, Suryakant Naik, and Dilip Devidas. Nature of complaint: Manhandling and beating. Complainant is Rama Velip. Police took no action.

4. On 10/11/2008 Rama Velip filed complaint against Hiralal Khodidas Mine at Quepem Police station for destroying Paddy field coconut garden, water bodies, releasing muddy water in Kushawati River. Police took no action.

5. On 26/11/2008 villagers of Colomba filed complaint at Quepem Police station complaining of transportations of iron ore through forest area in violation of High court order. Complaint was signed by Motesh Antao, Fr. Mathias D’Cunha and Rama Velip. Police too no action.

6. On 5/12/2008 United farmers of Colomba filed complaint at Quepem police station regarding illegal operation of mine by Hiralal Khodidas. Complaint signed by Motesh Antao. Police took no action.

7. On 14/1/2010 Dumena D’souza filed complain at Quepem Police station against mines managers of nine mines operating in Quepem and Sanguem talukas for overloading, endangering public health, polluting air, and causing danger to public life. The case was file under section 268, 269, 270, 278 of IPC, section 133 of Cr.PC, Section 40 of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) 1981 and under section 2(22) and 37 of Goa Public Health Act 1985. The nine mines which are mentioned in this complaint includes: V.S. Dempo T.C. no. 7/50 operation in Rivona, V.S. Dempo T.C. no. 3/51 operating in Curpem, Badruddin Mavany T.c. no. 14/52 operating in Colomba, Vangi Bindi Advona iron ore mine T.c. no. 10/51 operating in Sulcorna and owned by M/s Haidar Kasim Khan, Gogoro Ou Gulcon dongor Iron Ore mine T.c. no. 06/49 operating in Colomba and owned by Hiralal khodidas, Polo Dongor Iron Ore mIne T.C. no. 65/51 operating in curpem owned by G.F. Figueiredo, Gotifonda Tembo Colomab Iron ore mine T.C no. 75/52 owned by Vaicunt Cadnekar, Unonatlo dongor Iron ore mine T.C. no. 17/49 operating in Colomba and owned by Pai Palondikar, and Chunimol Dongor Iron ore mine T.C. no. 28/52 operating at Xivsorem, Rivona. Police took no action.

Police has been biased against people in processing of the cases. Goa government’s police policy towards mining in tribal areas is reflected from this fact. The bias of police in favor of mining industry and against people is clearly visible. The fall out of this situation is indeed very drastic loss of citizens’ confidence in the police force. However since local people are against mining industry for various reasons police force is used by mining industry to protect itself. It is best that in the public interest mining industry be closed down in Goa.

Agriculture suffers

Agriculture was practiced by everyone in the village of Colomba before mining began. Due to rampant mining activities paddy fields of Colomba has suffered drastic reduction of paddy yield. Dument D’Souza who owns a piece of agricultural land that her family cultivates used to harvest 2000 kg of rice before Fomentos started operation of Hiralal Khodidas mine. This has dropped to 900 kg of rice yield after mining company regularly releases mining silt into paddy fields. Coconut plantations too have suffered reduction in yield due to mining activities. The problem of mining to agriculture is also due to release of water from mining pit mixed with lime soda into paddy fields. Additionally the paddy fields nearby suffer due to sodium vapor light in the night focusing into paddy fields.

Response of the mining company managers with regard to discharge of mining silt into the paddy fields is to tell the villagers to remove and company will pay the cost. Villagers however refuse to accept money from mining company.

Agriculture is also threatened due to mining below ground water and drying up of water bodies in Colamba. This is particularly true in case of Badruddin Mavany mine operated by Radha Timblo. Large number of vegetables that used to be cultivated in the Muscavrem, Colomba has found sudden stop after the mining began. Land has been taken over for mining purpose, Kushavati river polluted, and village water bodies such as natural springs and wells dried up. This is fast becoming a reality in number of other areas of Colomba and surrounding villages with number of mining companies beginning their operations.

The situation can be reverted only with closing down mines and cancelling all the mining leases in this and surrounding villages.

Public Health Hazards due to mining

Number of public health hazards has come about due to beginning of mining activities in Colomba and neighboring villages. Dust pollution, noise pollution and heavy vehicular traffic have posed life threatening danger to the villagers. Besides, the entry of large number of migrant workers from various parts of India has caused socio-economic-medical phenomena of spread of HIV infection in mining belt. Alcoholism has increased with increase in mining activities.

Mining of Ferrous and Manganese in these localities has led to the release of impurities in air. The impurities includes silica, magnesium and many more. Inhaling of air polluted with these impurities causes numoconiosis that is also known as ‘dust-in-a-lung’ phenomena. In Colomba the movement of trucks is in the middle of the village. The road used by trucks is also used by school children, women to fetch water, to wash clothes etc. The road that can comfortable take around 50 truck trips per day is burdened with nearly 5000 truck trips filled with ore. Number of people in Colomba and neighboring villages has contacted lung diseases such as tuberculosis after mining activities began here nearly seven years ago. For children below 3 years respiratory problem is acute. 90 percent of people in mining belt suffer from one or other type of respiratory disease. Gattier, Rivona is one locality that has witnessed mass scale contraction of tuberculosis to its residents directly due to mine in the vicinity.

Asthma is another respiratory disease that is very common in mining belt. Besides mining dust lung diseases particularly to children are also caused by accasia trees planted by Forest department. The yellow pollen of these trees causes asthma and skin rash. These trees are danger to nature and must be down and new variety of fruit tree must be planted in their place.

Noise pollution due to movement of trucks leads to permanent disability including total deafness, increase in blood pressure, heart attacks etc.

Communicable diseases like Chicken Gunia, Malaria, Hepatitis and HIV infections have increased in Colomba after mining activities began. The cause can be linked to the increased influx of labour from various parts of India and even Nepal. HIV infection is spread with single men from various parts of India and Nepal taking employment in mines and developing unprotected sexual relationships with local girls.

Accidents due to mining transportation of ore are of three types. First one is caused by direct hitting of person by mining trucks. This happens as each truck is in competition with other to maximize its trips. Pedestrians and other vehicle owners are placed at lethal risk by the movement of trucks. Several accidents are caused this way and many people have died. Only few cases are recorded by police and large of cases are ended by the private force of mining companies by forced compromises or intimidation. A force parallel to police is developing in mining belt that handles besides accident cases, the intimidation of those opposing mining industry. Perhaps these are seeds of mafia in Goa’s mining belt sown by mining industry.

The second variety of mining transport accidents takes place when motorcyclists skid off the road due to spillage of ore on the road from the rooftops of overloaded trucks. In spite roads is filled with spilled ore from truck carrying ore from the mines.

The third variety of accidents takes place when ore from the speeding trucks flies out and hits pedestrians. This has caused injuries to people walking on the road, sometime even to motorcyclists trying to overtake speeding trucks. It is not uncommon to hear of instances when the ore flew out of the truck and hit someone’s head or someone’s eye.

Mining trucks has no controlling authority. Drivers are drunk and drive heavily overloaded trucks. No one checks the license of truck drivers. No one checks truck fitness. Goa Police is mauled by mining industry due to Coporate-Politician-Police nexus in place.

Mining also has drastic indirect effects of Public Health. Number of people taking to alcohol has increased. There is also the rise in liquor outlets in Rivona Panchayat jurisdiction. Few of these are licensed outlets. Large number of them operates without license. More importantly the liquor that is sold in these outlets is adulterated – very often mixed with urea and distilled.

Women in mining belt suffer from anxiety, sleeplessness, and stressful mind due to uncertain situation created by mining industry. Many families are headed by widowed women as their husbands have died due to their employment on mines. Employment on mines gave excess money which they invested in alcohol. This led to the degeneration of their health and ultimately their death. In Curpem and Vichundrem villages large number of men worked on mines and died within few years of their employment. Workers on mines develop renal problem due to exposure to extreme heat and dust. Workers on mines do not get proper water, proper health education, proper masks for nose, proper ear masks. These are given only during mines safely day for one day and then taken back. Doctors with companies are insensitive towards workers. Drivers in mines have no control over themselves when they drive after consuming alcohol. No one checks their physical fitness when they drive in intoxicated state. This behavior of drivers in mining is not an exception but a rule.

Direct effects of mining on water

Silt from mines is released directly into paddy fields of the people. This creates chocking of its traditional water ways and created frequent flooding in monsoon. This is observable in case of Hiralal Khodidas mine in Colomba.

Washing of trucks in fresh water bodies releases silt and other pollutants into water. The water used for irrigation purposes then pollutes land where this water is used. Kushawati river is a very good example as to how mining has created water crisis. Mining in its catchment areas led to drying of kushawati river few years ago. State government instead of shutting down mines constructed check dams at number of places on the river. Check dams created stagnation of water and put pressure of the edges of the river. The big trees on both sides of the river bank died as their roots got affected with blocking of river flow in artificial manner. Besides Kushawati river water is polluted by mining silt. The fish that used to be available for the villagers prior to damming of this river has dramatically reduced and some varieties disappeared all together. The Kushawati river bed has silted and turned shallow.

In Corla village natural springs has gone dry after as the mining led to alteration in the course of ground water. Over 100 tribal people live in this village on hill top.

Blasting in mines

Till few years ago blasting was regular practice in mines in spite of it being legally banned. In Colamb blasting at Hirala khodidas mine by Fomentos has caused cracks to the house of Devki Katu Velip. Workers who indulge in drilling for blasting suffer from blasting renauts phenomena that results in hand gangrene.

Renal Stone for workers working in mining belt is common phenomena. Dust particles accumulated inside the ear consolidate and transform itself into a stone of a respective mineral.

Conclusion

Mining has created all round degeneration of nature and quality of life of tribal people. Even employment on mines has led to number of people in mining belt. Mining is dangerous and its danger will not reduce with 26% of share of income from mines to tribal people as envisaged by government of India. This is only move to distract attention from the gross violation of rights and insult to the dignity of tribal people that cannot be purchased with money. The private ownership of mines gave full scale scope for the usury of the mineral wealth by few individual corporate entities. Mining industry in Goa has hijacked all round welfare and democracy in Goa. Damage to public health, degeneration of agriculture, depletion of ground water, use of police, abuse of judiciary to intimidate village people protesting mining industry are only manifestations of this phenomena. It is hoped that Western Ghats authority will take cognizance of this situation and recommend to the government of India to stop mining in Goa and cancel all the mining leases in the Tribal areas that find common ground in defense of Western Ghats.

Duty to ask Cidade de Goa owners

Sometimes you must ask the owners of Cidade de Goa "When will you stop purging of Goa's mineral wealth? When will you let people in Colamb, Advalpal, Pissurlem breath air free from its mining dust? When will huge mining pits be restored to its natural glory? How much of Goa's forest it is going to destroy? How many more water bodies it is going to run dry? How many more criminal cases it is going to file against protesting villagers? How many more court cases it wants to open against Colamb villagers? How much wealth it has already got from mining plunder of Goa? What is the limit of its greed?" Remember you have a duty and a responsibility to ask these questions at least.

Blasting in Colamb mine

According to the reports received from Milagrine Antao in Colamb Fomento mining company carried on blasting of explosives inside the Hiralal Khodidas mine yesterday April 20, 2010 at around 9.00 am. It may be noted that blasting inside the mine is banned by law.

In order to confuse people of the village about the blast the sound of the machinery is increased in volume and blast carried on when sound pitched at higher level.

In the meanwhile Milagrine Antao complained about the fuel pump installed few meters away from her paddy fields would have disastrous effects on her and other people's agricultural fields nearby. The fuel pump is being used to fill diesel for the mining trucks plying on Fomento mine form 5.30 am in the morning there by disrupting life of the villagers.

Sebastian Rodrigues

GOAMAP says police should apologise

HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, SEPT 26
The Goa Federation of Mines Affected People (GOAMAP) on Saturday demanded that the police should tender an apology for arresting an anti-mining activist by calling him to the police station under a false pretext.

Motesh Antao of Colamb was arrested in connection with a complaint lodged in November 2008 by an official of a mining company under sections 143, 341, 506 read with 149 of IPC on Friday. Antao said he had gone to pick up some RTI information for which he had made a letter to South Goa Superintendent of Police on August 14.

GOAMAP in a press release signed by its convenor Sebastian Rodrigues stated in case Goa Police failed to tender an apology the organization would be constrained to initiate appropriate constitutional recourse in a befitting manner.

He said in case of Motesh he was arrested by the Quepem police under some criminal case registered against a group of Colomb villagers for blocking mining transportation of the Fomento mining company that was operating the Hiralal Khodidas mining lease.

GOMAP said the Quepem police owed a written apology to Motesh for threatening him for filing an RTI application thus thwarting citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.

It stated that the police should give the apology copies to all the print and electronic media in the State by September 27 midnight.

Herald Sunday September 27, 2009 Panaji

Pictures of June 6, 2009 floods from mining sites in Goa

Sateri Temple in Valshi, Bicholim: water from nearby Vedanta (Dempo) mines at Bordem, Bicholim overflowing up to the temple plinth.

Below picture shows mining silt enters into compound wall of People residing near Vedanta (Dempos) mines in Mulgao, Bicholim.

Picture below shows mining rejection from Vedanta (Sesa Goa) mine lays scattered around in Advalpal village in Bicholim Taluka.

Picture below shows mining silt on the floor inside the village temple in Valshi, Bicholim. This silt is from Vedanta (Dempo mine at Bordem, Bicholim)

Mining silt entered entered inside the People's houses in Poira, Bicholim. This Silt is from Chowgule mining company.

Compound walls, drainage disrupted during last floods in mining belt of Goa. This picture is from Advalpal where in Sesa Goa, Salgaoncars, Fomentos, Lithoferro mining companies are in operation.

(Pictures by Vishant Vaze)

Trouble In Paradise

Megha Bahree, 09.10.09, 11:45 PM EDT


Published in Forbes magazine from United States of America

An hour's drive from Goa's luxury resorts, Indian mining companies are wrecking the land and breaking laws.

Ramesh Gauns, an English and geography school teacher, gets into an argument with a security guard. The site is a long barbed wire fence that slopes uphill just outside an iron ore site operated by the Dempo Mining Co. in his native Goa, on the western coast of India. "You can't take pictures, this is private property," the guard says to Gauns and a reporter. Gauns is used to confrontation with the mining companies. "I know what you're doing here," he shouts. "It's illegal! You can't scare us!" By this time, the reporter has already snapped a handful of shots of the lake below -- which is dyed the color of dried blood from the mine's runoff.

Gauns, 58, is a perennial protestor in Goa. He has demonstrated against the caste system, religious rituals and, most recently, what he believes to be environmental crimes. His latest fight started three years ago, when he went to a public hearing on a proposed iron ore mine on the banks of the river in his home town, Bicholim. He mobilized the community, filed a complaint with the state environmental agency, then took his cause to the Delhi High Court, which put the project on hold.

He hopes he will be as successful with his latest target, the Dempo mine. It is there that the residents of Sirigaon filed a petition to the Bombay High Court in June 2008, complaining that their wells were drying up and that their fields were ruined because of silt from the mines. The court directed the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, an autonomous government body, to investigate.

That report, out since March, validates the villagers' complaints, and says the companies should replenish the aquifer, restore the damaged rice fields and stabilize the mine waste -- measures that might take 18 months at a total cost of $1.4 million. The court has not yet decided how to proceed -- prompting activists like Gauns to collect more data against the mines.

Most Indians know nothing of the standoff. Nor do the hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists who flock to Goa for its sparkling beaches, luscious greenery, rave parties and Cancun laxity. But the state is also rich in iron ore, and 90% of its length (65 miles) is in various stages of open-pit mining.

Most resorts are an hour's drive away from the mines, but the mining industry isn't quite out of sight. From the sandy shores of the beach resorts, sunbathers can see barge after barge, fully-loaded with mine slag, every morning on the Arabian Sea.

"Goa is a tiny place, and any mining activity in the interiors, will affect the coastal areas as well," says Gauns, whom the Ministry of Environment & Forests has designated as a go-to guy for schools and teachers.

Whatever the High Court decides, this is a tough battle. Last year India exported 100 million tons of iron ore -- 45% of it from Goa -- most of which ended up in China, says industry research firm Steel Guru in Mumbai. Behind that output are powerful players. Since June, Dempo has belonged to Indian mining tycoon Anil Agarwal (net worth more than $4 billion), after his subsidiary Sesa Goa acquired it for $360 million and became the largest operator in the area. Along with Rajaram Bandekar (Sirigaon) Mines Pvt. Ltd., and Chowgule & Co. Pvt. Ltd., Dempo has been mining the Sirigoan area, 35 kms from Goa's capital Panjim, for six decades.

Up until the mid-1990s, the companies relied on men with shovels. Then, as the surface ore was depleted, they switched to mechanized, open-pit mining, relying on giant excavators that can dig holes as deep as 40 meters below sea level. The overburden -- the mud, soil and rocks left over from the ore slag -- gets tossed on the sides of the pit in huge piles. This is where the problems start. The deeper the companies dig, the more water they drain from the surrounding water tables. The higher the mountains of overburden, the more apt they are to be washed away in the rains, polluting water supplies and rendering fields unusable for planting.

For each ton of ore produced, miners dig out three tons of waste -- about average for such sites. However, some mines are in clear violation of certain conditions laid down by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The ministry stipulates that overburden be piled no higher than 30 meters and at a gradient of no more than 28 degrees. But Gauns maintains that mounds at several Dempo mines in Goa have had gradients as high as 45 degrees and have been piled far higher than the limits allow. Such conditions can create perilous instability, says Kadri Dagdelen, head of the department of mining engineering at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. "I don't think you can keep the broken material at 45 degrees because with rain it will wash away," he says. Or the winds can carry it miles from the site. Even as the monsoons had barely begun, the surrounding roads and villages were dusted in rust-colored soil.

It was after their wells had been drying up over four or five years, in an area that typically gets 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm of annual rainfall, that the residents of Sirigaon filed their petition to the high court. The mining area controlled by the three companies is a plateau 100 meters above sea level that captures rainwater as it percolates through the several layers of soil and acts as a so-called recharge zone for the ground water system. But, says the court-ordered report, the recharge area has been destroyed as the miners have dug into the plateau to reach the ore.

As the companies have dug deeper, they have reached levels lower than the water table. As a result, the water from the village area is sliding into the mine pits, further depleting the water supply. In some cases, water from the pits can seep into the groundwater, contaminating it. "If the aquifers are draining into the mines, the miners can pump it out but this water can be acid water," says Tuncel Yegulalp, a professor of mining engineering at Columbia University. "If this were in the U.S., the government would never have given the company permission to mine in such close proximity to residential areas."

But even pumping can pose hazards. A Dempo mine in the region has dug down to 30 meters below sea level and has to pump out 3,000 cubic meters to 10,000 cubic meters of water per day from its pits. This, says the court-ordered report, is directly discharged into the nearby Asnoda river. But the effluent is extremely brackish -- containing high concentrations of chloride (510 mg to 642 mg per liter) -- and can't be used for drinking, cooking, cleaning or irrigation. Usually a mining company creates an artificial pond into which it pumps water from the pits, treats it to remove harmful ingredients, and then discharges it. But Dempo doesn't bother with any of that, says the report.

The mining waste also washes into fields, ruining the rice crops. An analysis by the reporting group found soil samples that contained as much as 86% silt; unaffected fields had up to 67% silt. Such a high density of silt means that soil can't hold or percolate water, rendering it useless for planting much of anything. The soil has also become acidic, and has low supplies of the microorganisms that sustain oxygen, nitrogen and other nutrients to make soil fertile.

It wouldn't take much in the way of remediation. In addition to collecting rooftop rain water, the report suggests the companies create artificial recharge pits, controlling mine water seepage by sealing it in with grout along the edge of the mines and adding treated mine water to a back fill area for an aquifer storage recovery system. Two of the companies, Bandekar and Chowgule, have set up recharge pits.

Not Dempo. P.K. Mukherjee, managing director of Agarwal's Sesa Goa subsidiary, says the company read the report while it was gearing up to buy Dempo. "There are people who are not doing mining the way it should be done," he shrugs. "Dempo is not operating in the Sesa way, but it has not been the worst [either]."

The state government has dragged its feet, too. In 2000 it declared two areas in western Goa -- Mhadei and Netravali, which cover 420 square kilometers -- wildlife sanctuaries. But it didn't cancel pre-existing mining leases within that region. The Supreme Court had to step in with a cease-and-desist order. Though mining has halted, the areas remain devastated.

Even today, Goa officials don't seem inclined to move against mine operators. Asked when the state might act on the court-ordered report, Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat says he hasn't seen it. How is that possible? "I don't have time for this," he barks, before slamming down the phone.

Gauns and his colleague Sebastian Rodriguez, 36, seem to enjoy the fight, and are well known among Goa's protest community. Rodriguez is an activist on behalf of tribal peoples and a blogger -- which has gotten him into trouble. Fomento Group, a mining company with the greatest number of leases in Goa, has filed a defamation suit against him, seeking $100 million in damages. Rodriguez claims that Fomento is just using scare tactics.

His only hope is that the law will be applied fairly. In Goa, that's not a given.

Supreme Court issues notice to Fomento Resorts on Goa Foundation’s contempt petition

The Supreme Court today (September 04, 2009) issued notice to Ms. Anju Timblo, Director & MD of Fomento Resorts & Hotels (Owners of Cidade-de-Goa), Shri J.P. Singh, former Chief Secretary and Shri Sanjay Kumar Shrivastav, present Chief Secretary, on a contempt petition filed by the Goa Foundation for gross and willful disregard of the directions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 20th January , 2009.

It may be recalled that in the said judgment the Apex Court had allowed Fomento Resorts three months time to demolish 1000 sq.mts. of its hotel building at Bainguinim beach. However, the petitioners visited the hotel on 19th April, 2009 and found that the illegally extended portion of the hotel was still very much intact.

The petitioners wrote to the Registrar of the Bombay High Court thereafter asking for a compliance report filed by The Planning & Development Authority in relation to the demolition. The Registrar replied that no such report had been filed with the High Court.

The Goa Foundation petitioned the Supreme Court on the ground that the willful disregard of the court’s writ and demolition order had caused alarm and outrage in the entire State of Goa. The contempt petition noted that the public anger had expressed indignation that writs of the Supreme Court of India could be undone at the instance of powerful people in such summary fashion. The petition pleaded that if the Court allowed such defiant and scandalous conduct to pass without commensurate reprimand, faith of the petitioner and of law abiding citizens in the Supreme Court would be rudely shaken. The petition also stated that the public are shocked and angered that the Chief Minister of the State and the Respondent Hotel could so conspire to defeat the Court’s directions in such a brazen manner.

The Goa Foundation’s petition challenging the legality of the Land Acquisition Ordinance 2009 and the Land Acquisition Act 2009 is pending hearing in the Apex Court. In the meanwhile, the Supreme Court has already directed via an interim order that the construction sought to be regularized by the Ordinance would not be regularized till the Goa Foundation challenge was heard by the Apex Court .

Dr Claude Alvares
Director, Goa Foundation

Facing local protests: where Vedanta’s erring

Vedanta would do well to pay attention to protests. It bought Mitsui and Co.’s majority stake in Sesa Goa Ltd, a major iron ore extractor and exporter, in 2007

http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/12211913/Facing-local-protests-where-V.html?h=B

Root Cause Sudeep Chakravarti

There was a flap in the last week of July when human rights battleaxes, among them writer Arundhati Roy and former rock-star spouse Bianca Jagger, cut into Vedanta Plc in London. Timed around the UK-based metals and mining conglomerate’s annual general meeting, protesters included a representative of the Dongria Kondh tribe from Orissa. They were criticizing a bauxite mining project in the region of Niyamgiri by a joint venture in which a subsidiary of Vedanta has “controlling” interest.

The grouse of Roy, Jagger and partners is pressing: If you mine in that area, the tribe will lose a home. For the tribe, the issue has taken on added poignancy: The Niyamgiri Hills are sacred to the Dongria Kondh.

In the contentious, increasingly relevant universe where business, human rights, tradition and emotion intersect with urgency, this is a big deal. It’s not unlike a move from some years ago when Sting, the megastar musician, made common cause with a Caiapó tribal chief from the Brazilian rainforests. If nothing else, it helped reduce the speed at which these forests—worthwhile beyond measure—are being lost.

The activists in London were hoping to hit Vedanta where it hurts, taking their message to influential investors such as the Church of England. (Those who still sneer at what activism can do in a networked world could recall the flak Nike took in the 1990s over its East Asian sweatshops. The same as finance, industry and business, activism and public opinion, too, benefit from shrinking time and space.)

For its part, Vedanta has not made a counter move, except to claim what businesses usually do at these times: display go-ahead paperwork; in this case, from the Supreme Court of India.

This signals the weight of the paper the order is written on, and potential millions of bauxite ore Vedanta will extract to feed its alumina factories. But, in terms of true resolution of conflict at the local level, it will have meant little.

If the corporation had cared, protests would not have happened. Convergence these days goes beyond the meeting ground of business and politics, or the point where the advice of consultancy “suits” merges with the ethical fig leaf of that much abused phrase—corporate social responsibility, or CSR—their clients look for. All too often, CSR is merged with another acronym—R&R, or resettlement and rehabilitation—without understanding the dynamics that operate in areas where a project, whether extractive or manufacturing, inevitably displaces people. This happens in a physical and economic sense; and emotional displacement that chief executive officers, business planners, accountants and engineers may not care to understand. (Perhaps the flaw in the concept of human resource has always been that, it is practised with those under a corporate umbrella, rarely with those adversely affected on account of a company’s activities.)

Businesses also feel strengthened, even invulnerable, if they are in partnership with a government entity—as is the case with Vedanta’s mining project in Niyamgiri. In these situations, the idea of eminent domain—that permits government to expropriate land for the greater good—is more often than not abused in spirit and execution, where resettlement always takes precedence over rehabilitation. It is no secret that state governments typically look to MoUs (memoranda of understanding) as a cocaine addict looks for the next energy high, signing billions of dollars worth, optioning a range of arrangements from tax breaks to clearing the intended patch of land, to what the Chinese so eloquently call “fragrant grease”. Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and West Bengal have proved particularly susceptible to MoUs and messing with eminent domain.

In these places, deliberate, lamentable misunderstandings lead to negative energy—the sort that local activists and their more aggressive cousins, Maoist rebels, are increasingly adept at leveraging. All these states are in the footprint of churn or violent resistance to business and administration. In Niyamgiri, protesters could join issue with any weapon at hand. Past a point of no return, they will not seek either judicial or administrative approval—or for that matter, celebrity endorsement.

Vedanta would do well to pay attention to protests. It bought Mitsui and Co.’s majority stake in Sesa Goa Ltd, a major iron ore extractor and exporter, in 2007. Sesa Goa is now engaged, along with other local operators such as the riotously controversial Sociedade de Fomento Industrial Pvt. Ltd, in staving off allegations of callousness in and around their Goa mines. This time next year, Vedanta could see Goan protesters in London.

Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia. He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He will write a fortnightly column on conflicts that directly affect business.

Respond to this column at rootcause@livemint.com

Motesh Antao Slapped on his face three times by Goa Police at Quepem while in their custody

Motesh Antao Slapped on his face three times by Goa Police at Quepem while in their custody today. Motesh Antao spoke to http://www.mandgoa.blogspot.com/ after being released on bail. First time he was slapped by a policeman in plain clothes at Quepem Police Station and second and third time he was slapped on face while being taken for medical examination at government health centre in Curchorem.

The main reason why Motesh was attacked by police is best known to the Goa's men in Khaki that live off from public taxes and today they indulged in human rights violations.

According to Motesh Antao, the strategy of police given to them by minng company is to prevent people from Colamb to attend Public meetings in Panjim on March 23, 2009. There is widespread public protest against the State and Fomento mining company that State government has bended backward to protect Cidade de Goa five star hotel owned by Fomentos by specially coming out with Ordinance to avoid Supreme Court and High Court order to demolish the part of the Hotel for causing illegalities.

Police has planned to prevent Colamb villagers from attending Monday public meetings in various ways. The main way is to detain section of the key villagers active in the movement against mining at Police station the whole day. It may be recalled Ganv Ghor Rakhan Manch (GGRM) and Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) has called for public meetings - one in the morning and second one in the evening - to protest the biases involved in the process of issuing of Ordinance few hours before the election code of conduct came into force in Goa. There is currently huge huge momentum building up against the Ordinance.

Sebastian Rodrigues

The "Cidade Ordinance"

GOVERNMENT OF GOA
DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND JUDICIARY
LEGAL AFFAIRS DIVISION

NOTIFICATION
8/2/2009-LA


The Land Acquisition (Goa Amendment)Ordinance, 2009 (Ordinance No. 2 of 2009), which has been promulgated by the Governor of Goa on 28-2-2009, is hereby published for general information of the public.

Sharad G.Marathe.,
Joint Secretary (Law).
Porvorim,
2nd March, 2009.


THE LAND ACQUISITION (GOA AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE, 2009
(ORDINANCE NO 2 OF 2009)

Promulgated by the Governor of Goa in the sixtiethYear of the Republic of India

An Ordinance further to amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act 1 of 1894), as in force in the State of Goa.


Whereas the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa is not in Session and the Governor of Goa is satisfied that the circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action.


N o w, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 213 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Goa is pleased to promulgate the following Ordinance,namely


1. Short Title and commencement: (1) This Ordinance may be called the Land Acquisition (Goa Amendment) Ordinance, 2009.(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from 15-10-1964, unless any other specific date is indicated in the body of this Ordinance.


2. Amendment of section 41— In section 41 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Central Act 1 of 1894), as in force in the State of Goa, after clause (5), the following clauses, shall be inserted,namely.—


“(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the judgment, decree or an order of any Court,Tribunal or any other authority, any development done or construction undertaken in pursuance of the agreement entered under this section between the Government and the Company on the basis of the statutory approvals like permissions granted by the Planning and Development Authority, Eco-Development Council, Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority, Municipal Council, Panchayat,including renewals and deviations thereof approved and regularized, and all permissions obtained by the company and all the buildings constructed by the Company and all the proceedings taken by the competent authorities to issue the license or permission for undertaking construction, shall be deemed to have been validly done and have always been undertaken in accordance with the said agreement.


(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the judgment, decree, or order of any Court, Tribunal or any other Authority the appropriate Government shall be at liberty to modify the agreement executed under this section between the Government and the Company on mutually agreed terms in furtherance of the purpose for which the land was acquired, by publication of the modified agreement in the Official Gazette, and any such modifications made in the agreement,shall come into force from the date on which the original agreement with the Company was executed under this section and any action taken or things done under the modified agreement, shall for all purposes be deemed and to have always been done or taken in accordance with the original agreement.


(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any Court, Tribunal or any other authority, if in any agreement entered into between the Government and the Companythere be any clause prohibiting the Company to construct any buildings or structures in the acquired land, such clause shall stand deleted with retrospectives effect from 15-10-1964.


(9) No suit or other proceeding shall be instituted, maintained or continued in any Court or before any Tribunal or other authority for cancellation of such permission or for demolitionof buildings which were constructed after obtaining the permissions from the Statutory Authorities and have been validated under this section, or for questioning the validity of any action taken or things done or permission granted in pursuance of the original agreement as modified and no court shall enforce or recognized any decrees, judgment or orders declaring and such action taken or things done under the original agreement as modified, as invalid or unlawful”.


Place: Raj Bhavan, Dr.Shivinder Singh Sidhu,
Dona Paula. Governor of Goa.
Date: 28 February, 2009.

More on The Cidade Ordinance and Mining...

The now infamous ‘Cidade Ordinance’ by which Goa’s elected representatives have made a mockery of The Supreme Court and made their fellow Goans the laughing stock of the country, is a clear indication that Goa’s elected representatives have nothing but their own interests in mind.

Some now say that the shelf life of an ordinance is 6 months and to become a law it will have to be ratified by the Legislative Assembly. Some feel it will be opposed, but, and this is a big but, what happens if the same people come to power? Or if not them, perhaps a few new faces even worse than them?

Moreover, one should not forget that the Government of India and, more importantly, the strong big business lobby within it, only see Goa’s importance in terms of the foreign exchange its mud fetches from being exported to China. It is sad that we have Goans who will willingly do this, but sadder still that we have a Ministry of Environment and Forests that has turned its back on the precious Western Ghats and ceded shallow victory to those in the mad race to pip China to the final post. If there is a toss-up between agriculture, ecotourism, social forestry, rainwater harvesting and shall we say, mining, there is no reason to doubt what the choice will be.

When Indian corporate bigwigs smirk and say that China and India have come out of this mess smelling like roses, they accept their new roles as destroyers of the environment with glee. One would need a lot more space to document what China is doing to vast tracts of land in Africa, in return for which, by guise of ‘infrastructure’, they provide roads and build the malls that will send cheap, badly-manufactured Chinese goods.

India is no better. We have hit Africa too playing catch-up with the Chinese and working with governments there no different from the 40 persons we have in Goa, paying money left, right and centre, because big industry takes pfrecedence over the natural environment and other forms of non-human life. Says who and with what assurance?

With governmental backing, approval and support, The Jindals for instance have invested in Trinidad to put up a steel mill threatening mangrove forests and aquatic life; in Bolivia the government has given them 600 acres of private land to mine for iron ore, in exchange for their $2.1 billion investment. When America’s auto-industry belches after it has a full meal, don’t even think of how much the Jindals stand to make.

Never forget too that the Cidade de Goa is built from the huge profits Timblos made and continue to make even as this is being written from taking away Goa’s greenery and replacing it with waste mud and pools of stagnant water. What reason will the Government of India have to overrule this farce of legalizing what is obviously illegal, when they want the Timblos to export ore?

Those interested in how even the Supreme Court can favour industrial imperatives over an environment that includes in this instance, tribal peoples and their beliefs, can refer to the ruling that gave the infamous Vedanta Mining Corporation clearance to rip the forests.
If one discounts the small-time mining contractors who are doing the dirty work for the Timblos, we have just a handful of ‘traditional’ mining ‘barons’, men, who let us never ever forget, sided with the colonialist and Fascist government till the very end. It was a pro-mining Goan government, which, at the behest of a mine-owning Chief Minister, legalized colonial mining leases intended to systematically decimate Goa.

There is no way that I can believe that these same families are cash-strapped. Notice that not one of them has asked for a bail-out. Apart from their personal reserves that keep them (and ten other generations) in luxury, their reserves would have to be huge.

The global recession is actually a wake-up call to the entire earth and to all the people who care about its survival and this is where our mining barons need to put a stop to their greed, resynchronize their postulates and BE the CHANGE! Think of ways of how they diversify to environmentally-friendly industries…

To put it simply, they need to hire the best possible brains to help them think out of the box. To put this conversely, if they had the ‘vision’ of a better Goa, they would temper their greed and follow the law.

A little bird tells me that one of the Timblos is desperately calling up his old friends in Goa, almost in tears, saying that his friends have deserted him, that no one talks to him any more, that they avoid him like he has the plague. Some would say that this Timblo’s tragedy is not too different from that of Macbeth, the grief of an individual whose eyes were bigger than his stomach. From the other side, from where the woods once used to be before Timblo machinery got to work, where the villagers of Ambaulim, Kawrem, Maina and Collomb stand in the thick of the mining dust, it is a tragedy so monumental it can only be comprehended by those who see it on a day to day basis.

The foothills of the Western Ghats are disappearing. Even as this is being written more than 600 trucks are moving out of this area daily while the Timblos of course, wonder why the whole of Goa now sees them with the contempt they deserve. They can hold their soirees and their cocktail parties and flirt with the rich and famous, but when push comes to shove, thanks to the internet campaigns and various forums, everyone knows how many pieces of silver were palmed and by whom and for what.

The same Timblo who now grieves that those not in the mining fraternity are repelled by him, should know, if he has a heart at all, that this damage can be repaired. For that to happen though he would have to be able to see beyond the end of his wife’s diamond-studded nose.

Hartman de Souza to e-group western-ghats@googlegroups.com on March 10, 2009.

THE REAL EXTENT OF THE CIDADE DE GOA DEMOLITION ORDERED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

On 20 January, 2009, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a batch of three appeals filed by Fomento Resorts, owners of Cidade de Goa, a five-star resort located in the outskirts of Panaji, in Taleigao village, at Vainguinim beach.

The Court found the hotel had violated the provisions of a land acquisition agreement which it had signed with the Goa Government regarding the use of a plot of land the Government had acquired for the hotel for creation of sports facilities for the public.

Instead of erecting the sports facilities, the resort owners illegally extended the main building of the hotel so that it now formed a significant part of the acquired plot. The area of illegal extension is 1114 sq.mts. Since the hotel had constructed three stories on the 1114 sq.mts, the total extension today at site is actually 4500 sq.mts.

In this illegally built area, the hotel had installed 50 residential rooms, in addition to a convention centre, a health club, a beauty parlour. All these must now be demolished.

Outside, in the balance of the plot, the hotel had erected a laundry building, extension to the laundry building, boiler room, cluster of open air bars, sheds, store-rooms and kitchen. These must be demolished as well.

Some of this construction was actually done to block a traditional access to the beach for the public. The access was also part of the the agreement the hotel had pledged to keep open in its agreement with the Government.

The Supreme Court has upheld the Bombay High Court judgement which had clearly required the public access to be maintained.

Since the appeals filed by the hotel have been dismissed, the remaining directions issued by the High Court in its judgement will also now be implemented. One of these requires the Goa government to issue a notice to the company for resumption of the land itself for violation of the terms of the agreement.

The Supreme Court has set a time frame within which its various directions in respect of the pathway and the demolition of the illegal extension must be carried out. Within one month, all obstructions to the pathway must be removed. The demolition of the structures listed in the High Court's order and in the order of the Supreme Court must be done within three months. A compliance report must be filed by the Fomento Resorts in the Bombay High Court after the expiry of the period to indicate to the Court that the directions have been carried out.

(Claude Alvares)
Director/Goa Foundation

FOMENTOS MINING UNDER POLICE PROTECTION AT COLAMB

Fomentos are carrying on mining activities, but under private and police protection in Colamb, T.C No. 06/1949.

Despite the entire village againt it, Fomentos' mining continues...