November, 2023: the consent is falsely “manufactured” and therefore, the ECL Rajmahal Project is a state-sponsored encroachment in Taljharia, Godda.

Newsletter November, 2023

Justice in Mining Network

1. Ground Reporting on Police Atrocities from Soyko, Khunti on Abraham Mundu Martyr's Day 22 October

Villagers gather at Abraham Chowk to commemorate the martyrdom of Abraham Mundu who was institutionally murdered by Police for protecting his land rights.

A three-member team of Justice in Mining, Coordinator, SJ PM Antony, High Court Advocate, Br. Martin and Researcher Deepti Mary Minj visited the village of Soyko (Khunti Jharkhand) on Abraham Mundu's Martyr's Day, 22 October to commemorate the struggle of the farmer, Abraham Munda and others who died in police firing on the fateful night of 22 November 2016 seven years. . , ago. But, their struggles, issues can concern are still valid today. The villagers were organizing themselves against the proposed amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Santal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPT) that protects the ownership of the adivasi raiyats by disallowing the transfer of adivasi agricultural land to non-adivasi buyers for non-agricultural. . , purposes. On the night of 22 October, police from four neighboring stations namely- Soyko, Khunti, Maranghadam and Andki; were called in to prevent the villagers from going to the organized protest at Morabadi Maidan, Ranchi the next day. The amendments by the then BJP-state government to the CNT and SPT allowed for the back-door-entry of the dikus and industrialists.

The meeting was attended and addressed by Sarpanch, Durgadevi Odhya who talked about defeating the radical forces that attempts to take away the tribal land and identity. Other speakers also spoke about the need for public unity and awareness about their Constitutional rights. The affected families from Police atrocities of open firing report that bureaucratic hurdles in acquiring compensation. More importantly, such cases of violently repressing people's voice by violent mechanisms of the government is a gross violation of constitutional and human rights.

Sarpanch Durgadevi Odhya talk of safeguarding tribal land rights through gram panchayats

Sayni Mundu, deceased Abraham's wife says that Abraham was just a simple farmer who was falsely accused as being a Naxal to cover his murder in Police firing. Her family consisting of her sister-in-laws: Hana, Martha and Bilasi Mundu; Two sons and a daughter and other relatives had gathered along with the families of other deceased and injured victims in a gathering of about 80 villagers on the Sunday afternoon.

Sayni Murmu, Abraham Mundu's widow performs traditional rituals with mango leaves

Hana Mundu, an elder sister of Abraham, and a retired primary school teacher, boldly narrates that when the family filed an FIR of police cruelty for firing on Abraham (a head-shot) that killed him on spot in the night of 22 October, 2016; the police instead fired a case on Abraham and his family for being involved in naxal-extremist activities. The family then fought a legal case for several years and only recently, acquitted Abraham's name free of such baseless allegations. Hana says with a warriors' smile on her wrinkled face, "After losing a brother and fighting and winning a legal battle, we are not afraid of anything." Khunti, land of Abba Birsa Munda, truly has generations of brave warriors and defenders of their land.

2. Ground Reporting from Taljharia and Lalmatia, Godda : 6-7 November

A meeting was held with roughly 50 villagers of Taljhari (including 16 women) in Boarijor, Sundar Pahadi, Godda to understand the issues of expanding Eastern Coal Mines (ECL) through the Rajmahal Project. A meeting of the Taljhari villagers was held about 80km in another village because the ECL authorities are surveilling the entries of outsiders in the village. This is highly ironic because the ECL has entered the Taljhari village without permission and dug agricultural land on 18 January 2023. Villagers protested the unannounced entry of the bulldozers and excavation of the agricultural fields. However, their protests were met out with police violence on the people through brutal lathi-charge on young, elderly and women alike.

A village reports brutal lathi-charge from the police that incurred him heavy health and financial burden.

A farmer, Margret Mary Hembram also reports that her farmland that had about 50 mango-trees was dug without the agreement by the bulldozers of the ECL. She says, “When the bulldozers arrived, we went to stop them from cutting our farmland because we had not given our agreement, but the company-walas claimed that the agreement had been made.” It is logically incomprehensible that if the farmers have given (as per the ECL), then why should they resist the bulldozers. Clearly, the agreement that the ECL claims it has acquired, has not been acquired. Or, if the bureaucratic papers show the agreement, it has been forged or wrongly shown without the actual knowledge and consent of the villagers. Again, it emphasizes the fact, the consent is falsely “manufactured” and therefore, the ECL Rajmahal Project is a state-sponsored encroachment in Taljharia, Godda.

A farmer, Margret Mary Hembram also reports that her farmland that had about 50 mango-trees was dug without the agreement by the bulldozers.

People have lost their main source of livelihood and identity, that has increased vulnerable migration to the cities at inadequate rates of payment, increased alcoholism, and addiction among youth due to loss of employment and also resulted in high mental issues such as loneliness, depression and anxiety due to bleak future without land or compensation.

Talakudi Kisko, female farmer reported she was physically abused by the supervisor, BKTiwari of the Araanya Mines Private Limited (AMPL) when she resisted the digging up of her land on 14 August, 2023 without any prior agreement. Moreover, resisting people have been charged with false criminal charges of murder, rape and theft. They are locked in jail without proper inquiry.

Talakudi Kisko filed a case against physical and sexual assault from the mining company manger.

Interviews were also attempted with the few families that have given their agreement for land acquisition to the ECL and have been resettled in Lalmatia, Godda. One family reported that selling the land was not their first option. They wanted to keep the land, but later disputes occurred with the villagers that broke the solidarity and therefore they sold the land unwillingly due to security reasons. The family reported issues of inadequate and arbitrary compensation. They said that they were first resettled among other resettlers in small houses. Accustomed to land and farming, none received land for the land that they lost. Moreover, the compensation that they received was based on each person's different ability to bargain with the officials. Therefore, they reported of different families receiving different amounts of compensation for the same area of land sold. Additionally, the promised job to the family member occurred only after a year. Irregular salary disbursement has been reported. They said that if demand for proper payment or full and adequate compensation is made, they are threatened with a chargesheet or suspension from job.

The family reported poor adjustment in the staff quarter as their previous life of farming is gone. Community linkages have also weakened that causes mental vulnerabilities. It is estimated that 22 families have sold their land for the ECL Rajmahal Project but many have not received full and proper compensation.

3. Ground Reporting from Shikaripada, Dumka: 8 November

Lanes of trucks, like an unending snake continues, that consumes the entirety of the mud or patchy roads in the village of Shikaripara, Dumka that is the site of stone-quarry. Soon, it will be the site of coal-mining, as the extension of the coal-mining has been granted by the government, even to the private players and relaxed the norms of mining. When the United Nations proclaim of reducing the world's temperature by 1.5 degrees, and the Indian government shouts of moving towards "clean and green" energy; how and why is the village in the Santhal Pargana region witnessing extensive and expansive mining projects. Apart from the direct environmental consequences of loss of vegetation and biodiversity; the heavy vehicles also disrupt the soil and topographical balances. Moreover, when one travels on the NH114A, to the nearest city (and sub-capital), Dumka, they play with death.

Heavy trucks, loaded with heavy minerals move towards the opposite direction to evade dangerous holes on this highway; often colliding with them into the traffic traveling the opposite way. Road accidents by trucks have become a common occurrence. Consumerism cannot be separated from this complex problem of mining, energy requirement and forest clearances. A shift to "clean" energy remains a facade, if these clean energy sources are coming from even rarer minerals. Uranium mining, for nuclear energy, is a perfect example of pseudo-clean energy. Pushing of clean energy and banning extensive mining should be allied with other causes like questions on over-consumption, mindless consumerism and weak labour laws.

It is truly disheartening that in a recent Uttrakahand tunnel accident, several workers are migrants from the Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Most people become migrant workers due to loss of land and livelihood from dispossession for mining and other "development" project in "public-use". But, where are these workers in "development" and "public-use"? Collapsed? Buried? Bullied?

The women strongly speak on the holding the government bodies and representatives accountable

The villagers are severely concerned about the increasing rate at which the government is pushing the mining agenda of extracting minerals from the earth. They are extremely worried about the loss of land, homes, and environment. It is learned that railway ministry under the project “Gangajal” is planning to provide purified water to every village. A villager says in a meeting of roughly 20 villagers, “The government plans to lay pipe in every tola (colony). But, by the time water comes, people will be lost.” This captures the anxiety of the villagers of losing their homes amid the expansive mining projects. The villagers of Shikaripada reported health, agriculture and environment to their main concerns arising from the stone quarry and coal-mining activities.

The villagers of Shikaripada have organized themselves under the Rajmahal Pahad Bachao Andolan to collect tax from every truck for the extractive activities. It is their share in the economic growth that the mining companies are pursuing.

The mining issue is not merely the issue of adivasi or mining-affected areas, as it also related to the larger bureaucratic failure, corruption, and administrative inefficiency. The villagers report that they are being charged high electricity bills of false cases. A villager says that his household received a monthly electricity bill of Rs 18,000. Not only is such a high rate of electricity bill not possible for villages that has limited and basic electricity facilities of mostly lighting bulbs but is also impossible as the villagers reported that the transformer has been out of service during the billed period and no electricity was supplied. . , , , in the first place. Such negligence highly erodes the public's trust in the government and functioning of its various mechanisms. Additionally, when bureaucratic processes will be involved in such a major issue as acquisition of land, it demands immense faith in efficient, approachable, and transparent government functions.

A stone quarry mine has been abandoned after its closure in 2020. No plan or effort has been made to plain it and return to the villagers for useful work.

Writer: Deepti Mary Minj ( deepti.jim.b@gmail.com )