And whether it is Uganda or India it's the same story of struggle. .I have just returned from Kalahandi, Orissa where tribals are up in arms against a mining company that has plans to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri forests they consider sacred.. The forests are the only green patch left in drought prone Kalahandi. People have lost their lives, tribals have been forcibly evicted to make way for the mining company- Our day is spent recording testimonies of tribals who have been forced to give up their land to make way for the mining company. In order to crosscheck the testimonies we always interview the other side- the mining company or the police. The company thinks they have done their job- A slick rehabilitation package for a 100 families and its enough. Never mind that over 32 streams in this drought prone district will dry up, the soil will be contaminated making it redundant for agriculture once the mining starts. The number of families that will be affected will be more than 5000. But as they have not been physically displaced they cannot get any compensation.
Orissa's resettlement and rehabilitation policy of 2006 forbids any forced displacement. But there are other ways of making people leave their land. In Bandagudagaon a woman demonstrates to me how she was stripped of her saree and shoved like an animal by the police- when they protested at the factory gate. I am holding the microphone as she speaks and she grabs a stick and pushes me really hard while screaming in Oriya. My hands are shaking by now- her fear is my fear - as she describes how they were all rounded up by the police. I can only imagine when the state unleashed its power on her what she must have felt.. I request my producer - Rahul to carry on the interview- two days of recording testimonies of human rights violations has left me emotionally drained.
When we confront the local police with the testimonies of tribals being ill-treated- the local Inspector laughs it off - 'these tribals are drunkards what else do you expect?'. The Collector too is dismissive- these people don't understand this is good for them.. Its clear the State could not care less. A citizen of Kalahandi may as well not be a citizen - he or she can only be a silent spectator.
There are other problems which are never addressed-The environmental costs of big mining projects are rarely factored in. While a company is obliged to plant trees to replace the forest it has cut- it is seldom done in the same area where they cut it. In Kalahandi as I drive away from the Niyamgiri hills I know I am seeing the dense forests for the last time. With this last green patch gone the rainfall patterns , the local weather conditions will be drastically affected- this too would never be factored in by the economists selling us the industrialization dream.
By the third day we have been noticed. From nowhere we find people in motorbikes following us. They don't do anything nor look at us- their presence is enough. The moment they enter the tribal hut where we are recording testimonies the tribals clam up. In the presence of these men they are silent.
I try a disarming technique. I ask the men who have been following us on their motorbikes to give us an interview. They oblige! We meet Ram Naik- he is a transporter from the nearby town of Bhawanipatna. After the mining company came in all his 10 cars and 5 trucks are used regularly he is earning big profits. Its clear who will benefit from the mining. This part of Kalahandi has new residents- the contractors, semi-skilled labour and transporters- they will all benefit from the mining company. They are the new residents of lanjigarh... As for the old residents - the Dongriya Kond tribals they must make way- they are irritants on Orissa's shining road to industrialization.
When we carried the story of the tribals of Orissa- many viewers wrote in expressing their anger. The tribals of Orissa were being anti-development. How could they not understand this was good for them?
Unfortunately anyone who questions rapid industrialization is labeled a communist who is anti-development without seriously addressing the complexity of the issues. Its easy to say rehabilitate people- but is rehabilitation offered to every project affected person- NO. Invariably a rehabilitation package is offered to a minute fraction of those affected by the project. In Orissa the oustees of the Hirakud Dam built decades ago have yet to be rehabilitated. Are the environmental impacts such as climate change accounted for? Rarely. The mining project in Niaymgiri will make many local wildlife species extinct, cut down thousands of trees. The offer made by the company to make up for this loss is only one-third of the actual costs in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and release of toxic effluents. Who will pay the price for it? Not the company. Not the state. It will only make living hell in this region in Kalahandi for the local people.
When local people ask whats in it for us ?- they are labeled as anti-nationalist. And there are yet any concrete example of how a big project has even benefited the people who were displaced by the project. In Uttaranchal , thousands had to vacate their homes to make way for the Tehri dam- the water will all be diverted to big cities like Delhi. Once again little explanation of how the dam will benefit local people who lost their homes.
Till we address these basic questions and make sure that the best rehabilitation packages are offered to those who are physically and economically displaced there are many Nandigrams in the making. And theres another dangerous trend- Whether its Orissa, it's the Mabira forest in Uganda - world over environmental movements are losing their non-violent nature. An intelligence report within the US has already warned that future wars will be over natural resources like water. So as glaciers shrink and the climate changes and we still insist rapid industrialization without understanding the human and environmental costs involved- one day it will all be upon us. About the AuthorBahar Dutt Bahar Dutt is a wildlife conservationist by training. She has worked for the last ten years on crucial wildlife conservation projects in India and abr...Read Morefirst published:April 21, 2007, 11:45 ISTlast updated:April 21, 2007, 11:45 IST
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Local residents in Uganda's Mabira forest are up in arms against their government. And all Indians based in Uganda. It must be the first time that a green issue sparked a diplomatic crisis between two countries and a racial outburst . Already three people have died - including several attacks on Asians in Kampala and property worth millions belonging to Asians was also destroyed. At the core of the conflict is 7000 acres of prime forest land to be leased to the Indian-owned Mehta group of industries - for growing sugarcane which is being opposed by the local community which does not want the government to sign away their forest. The tension has been brewing for a while in Uganda now. The Ugandan Parliament is yet to change the status of the forests -campaigners have threatened more violence if the forest is given away. The Mabira forest- one third of which has been leased for logging to make way for sugarcane. The forest is home to some of the most endangered animals and birds. While nothing justifies the systematic targeting of the Indians or the innocent boy who was killed in the outburst- at the heart of the violence is a debate which is not being addressed. Old landuse patterns of agriculture or forest are becoming redundant in the new world economic order bringing the traditional owners of the land in direct conflict with industries.
And whether it is Uganda or India it's the same story of struggle. .I have just returned from Kalahandi, Orissa where tribals are up in arms against a mining company that has plans to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri forests they consider sacred.. The forests are the only green patch left in drought prone Kalahandi. People have lost their lives, tribals have been forcibly evicted to make way for the mining company- Our day is spent recording testimonies of tribals who have been forced to give up their land to make way for the mining company. In order to crosscheck the testimonies we always interview the other side- the mining company or the police. The company thinks they have done their job- A slick rehabilitation package for a 100 families and its enough. Never mind that over 32 streams in this drought prone district will dry up, the soil will be contaminated making it redundant for agriculture once the mining starts. The number of families that will be affected will be more than 5000. But as they have not been physically displaced they cannot get any compensation.
Orissa's resettlement and rehabilitation policy of 2006 forbids any forced displacement. But there are other ways of making people leave their land. In Bandagudagaon a woman demonstrates to me how she was stripped of her saree and shoved like an animal by the police- when they protested at the factory gate. I am holding the microphone as she speaks and she grabs a stick and pushes me really hard while screaming in Oriya. My hands are shaking by now- her fear is my fear - as she describes how they were all rounded up by the police. I can only imagine when the state unleashed its power on her what she must have felt.. I request my producer - Rahul to carry on the interview- two days of recording testimonies of human rights violations has left me emotionally drained.
When we confront the local police with the testimonies of tribals being ill-treated- the local Inspector laughs it off - 'these tribals are drunkards what else do you expect?'. The Collector too is dismissive- these people don't understand this is good for them.. Its clear the State could not care less. A citizen of Kalahandi may as well not be a citizen - he or she can only be a silent spectator.
There are other problems which are never addressed-The environmental costs of big mining projects are rarely factored in. While a company is obliged to plant trees to replace the forest it has cut- it is seldom done in the same area where they cut it. In Kalahandi as I drive away from the Niyamgiri hills I know I am seeing the dense forests for the last time. With this last green patch gone the rainfall patterns , the local weather conditions will be drastically affected- this too would never be factored in by the economists selling us the industrialization dream.
By the third day we have been noticed. From nowhere we find people in motorbikes following us. They don't do anything nor look at us- their presence is enough. The moment they enter the tribal hut where we are recording testimonies the tribals clam up. In the presence of these men they are silent.
I try a disarming technique. I ask the men who have been following us on their motorbikes to give us an interview. They oblige! We meet Ram Naik- he is a transporter from the nearby town of Bhawanipatna. After the mining company came in all his 10 cars and 5 trucks are used regularly he is earning big profits. Its clear who will benefit from the mining. This part of Kalahandi has new residents- the contractors, semi-skilled labour and transporters- they will all benefit from the mining company. They are the new residents of lanjigarh... As for the old residents - the Dongriya Kond tribals they must make way- they are irritants on Orissa's shining road to industrialization.
When we carried the story of the tribals of Orissa- many viewers wrote in expressing their anger. The tribals of Orissa were being anti-development. How could they not understand this was good for them?
Unfortunately anyone who questions rapid industrialization is labeled a communist who is anti-development without seriously addressing the complexity of the issues. Its easy to say rehabilitate people- but is rehabilitation offered to every project affected person- NO. Invariably a rehabilitation package is offered to a minute fraction of those affected by the project. In Orissa the oustees of the Hirakud Dam built decades ago have yet to be rehabilitated. Are the environmental impacts such as climate change accounted for? Rarely. The mining project in Niaymgiri will make many local wildlife species extinct, cut down thousands of trees. The offer made by the company to make up for this loss is only one-third of the actual costs in terms of carbon dioxide emissions and release of toxic effluents. Who will pay the price for it? Not the company. Not the state. It will only make living hell in this region in Kalahandi for the local people.
When local people ask whats in it for us ?- they are labeled as anti-nationalist. And there are yet any concrete example of how a big project has even benefited the people who were displaced by the project. In Uttaranchal , thousands had to vacate their homes to make way for the Tehri dam- the water will all be diverted to big cities like Delhi. Once again little explanation of how the dam will benefit local people who lost their homes.
Till we address these basic questions and make sure that the best rehabilitation packages are offered to those who are physically and economically displaced there are many Nandigrams in the making. And theres another dangerous trend- Whether its Orissa, it's the Mabira forest in Uganda - world over environmental movements are losing their non-violent nature. An intelligence report within the US has already warned that future wars will be over natural resources like water. So as glaciers shrink and the climate changes and we still insist rapid industrialization without understanding the human and environmental costs involved- one day it will all be upon us.
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