January, 2025 : Training program on gram Sabha strengthening 27-29 January

 

January, 2025
Justice in Mining Network 
Newsletter

1. Discussion on PESA, Fifth Schedule and Land Governance: 3 January 2025 over Jaipal Singh Munda’s Birth Anniversary


Panchayats (Extension to Fifth Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 ensures self-governance through gram sabha in Fifth and Sixth Scheduled Areas of India, listed in the Part IX of the Indian Constitution. PESA is a crucial tool against land grab for extractive industries in the mineral-laden Adivasi territories as gram sabha’s approval is mandatory for “developmental” projects. The ten states of India- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Jharkhand has however, not yet implemented PESA. Concerns have been raised over the proposed Jharkhand Panchayati Raj Act (JPRA), 2001 because the power and autonomy of the gram sabhas, as suggested by Bhuria Committee in PESA, is significantly missing in the JPRA. 

2. An Awareness Programme on Ecology and Mining at St Xavier’s College, Ranchi: 11 January, 2025


A day awareness program was held with the students of Geology, Zoology and Botany Departments of St Xavier’s College Ranchi to educate and discuss over the negative impacts of mining on water, air and soil. Immense quantity of oxygen, water and land is used for mining that is leading to depletion of the biodiversity, rising ailments among humans and animals, reducing life expectancy and, water scarcity. The social, economic, legal, political and cultural aspects of mining were also discussed with the students. 


3. Mining and Church Consultation: 14 January 2025 
An online consultation over the mining and role of church was participated in to draft the Planning Tool Document that seeks to be a resource and starting point for discerning Church engagement on mining in given territories. It is an attempt to provide a tool for applying the “See, Judge, Act” method to problems associated with mining and to help Catholic actors navigate the unique social, legal, economic, and ecological landscapes they face when trying to respond to the social and ecological sufferings created by mining in a way that remains distinctively Catholic.  Emphasis was made on the ideas of ecological justice and social harmony as the main teachings of Church to work towards climate justice. Inspiration was drawn from the Pope Francis' Laudato si' (May, 2015) to work dedicatedly towards preserving the beautiful creation of earth. 

4. Survey of Gopikandar block, 21-24 Jan
The NUPPL mining project plans to acquire 715 hectares of land, including 455 hectares of forest and 260 hectares of private/community land in Gopikandar, affecting the local indigenous communities of Santhal and Mahli. Santhals are big farmers, whereas Mahli have small landholdings and making and selling bamboo-based products is their main livelihood. Thus, the Mahli primarily depend on the forest for the livelihood. They also have environmentally friendly and optimal methods of agriculture based on mixed cropping of oilseeds such as mustards and vegetables such as radish. Further, they also practise agriculture on hilly terrains for nutritious crops such as maize, millets, pulses.  

5. Training program on gram Sabha strengthening 27-29 January


A three days training program was conducted with 28 indigenous women community members and leaders from bauxite mining-affected regions of Rajgangpur, Sundargarh, Odisha. The women are associated with a women-welfare organisation, called Samagrah Vikas Samiti that work for the rural welfare, especially for women and gender issues and by women. The area of their residence and work is affected with bauxite mining and several iron sponge industries that causes loss of land, declining community resources, sexual exploitation by demographic change, health challenges due to pollution, loss of agriculture and forest-based livelihood. They report of helicopter surveying their villages, pollution from iron-sponge industries and reducing livelihood options. They were trained  on the powers of gram sabha, women leadership, history and identity of indigeneity. 

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836 days of Jansangarh against the land acquisition by NTPC, JSW and Adani for coal mines in Badam panchayat, Gondalpura block of Hazaribagh

चित्र
The farmers of Gondalpura village of Hazaribag, Jharkhand, India have been protesting for 836 days since 12 April 2023 against the proposed land acquisition for a coal project of Adani enterprises at their village. The villagers have unanimously passed a village council resolution that they would not give their multi-cropped agricultural land for the private interest of Adani enterprises. Hazaribagh which was once famous for its dense forests and wildlife is now blindly issuing environmental clearances for coal extraction for several private industries such as Adani, Jindal, Rungta and BGR through public enterprises such as Central Coal Limited (CCL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NTPC). Twenty-seven different false cases of disrupting law and order are charged against 161 villagers of Gondalpura for opposing coal mining induced, forced displacement.  Context After its coal exploration, Central Mine Planning & Design Ins...
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December, 2025 Newsletter: Parliament committee recommends reducing time for forest, environmental clearances for coal projects

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December 2025 Newsletter Justice in Mining Network  South Asia  Message Johar! As we conclude the year 2025, we do so without the comfort of closure. The calendar turns, but the crises that define our times continue—deepening, mutating, and revealing ever more clearly the structures of power that sustain injustice. The news that unfolds in this December issue reminds us that while governments speak the language of reform, sustainability, and development, the lived realities of Adivasi, Dalit, fisher, and working-class communities tell a far more troubling story. This is a year ending not with resolution, but with urgent warnings. A central development this month is the Jharkhand Cabinet’s approval of the PESA Rules, presented as a long-awaited step toward strengthening Gram Sabhas and recognising Adivasi self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. However, the mixed reactions from Adivasi organisations reveal a deeper concern: empowerment that is partial or diluted risks becoming...
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November, 2023: the consent is falsely “manufactured” and therefore, the ECL Rajmahal Project is a state-sponsored encroachment in Taljharia, Godda.

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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 a...
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