[Assam] From ToI/Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel

[Chan Mahanta]

Depends on how badly one is affected, robbed ? 

But the intelligent question should have been: WHY do Indians , in their DEMOCRATIC country, have to take to guns, before their grievances see the light of day, much less a fair and timely resolution? 

Or is that too complicated?



On Aug 16, 2010, at 9:55 PM, Dilip Deka wrote:

> Guns make a difference anywhere in the world. Doe it mean every civilian must 
> have a gun to make a point?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com>
> To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world 
> <assam at assamnet.org>
> Sent: Mon, August 16, 2010 9:50:19 PM
> Subject: [Assam] From ToI/Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel
> 
> So it proves one thing LOUD and CLEAR:  That unless you take up arms to defend 
> your rights in India, nothing happens. Desi demokrasy is all but impotent to 
> guarantee  the rights of people. But when they take up arms,  Dilli does notice, 
> don't they? Except that some of our kharkhowa ex-pats still can't  fathom it. I 
> wonder WHY these were NOT illegal so far? Naxalism does make the difference for 
> the people after all. 
> 
> cm
> 
> 
> Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel
> 
> Read more: Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel - India 
> Business - Business - The Times of India 
> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Vedanta-mines-illegal-must-be-shut-down-Green-panel/articleshow/6321872.cms#ixzz0wpMAIbWX
> 
> 
> 
> NEW DELHI: 
> Mining giant Vedanta consistently violated several laws in bauxite mining at 
> Niyamgiri,  encroached upon government land,  got clearances on the basis of 
> false information and illegally built its aluminium refinery at Lanjigarh,  
> Orissa. As the company engaged in these violations,  the Orissa government 
> colluded with it and the Centre turned a blind eye. , These are some of the 
> findings of the four-member N C Saxena committee,  which on Monday recommended 
> that the company not be allowed to mine in the hills that are the abode of the 
> Dongaria Kondh and Kutia Kondh tribes in Orissa. , The no-holds-barred 
> indictment of the state and private sector in the $1.7billion project brings out 
> the short shrift given to concerns about tribal rights and environmental 
> protection. It is significant also because it underlines the changed 
> sensibilities of the government towards the issues against the backdrop of 
> Left-wing extremism and why Naxalites are finding it easy to influence alienated 
> tribal belts. , The stern report of the environment and forests ministry panel 
> signalled that tribal rights and environmental isssues have finally muscled 
> their way onto the governance agenda,  forcing the authorities to take action 
> against corporates who may have shown disregard for rules. The Saxena committee 
> report,  which could lead to shutting down of the Vedanta smelters in Orissa,  
> comes after the MoEF moved to stop or stall several high-profile,  
> heavy-investment projects,  including the Posco Integrated Steel project in 
> Orissa,  which,  at Rs 56, 000 crore is the single-largest foreign direct 
> investment in India,  the Jindal thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh (Rs 10,000 
> crore),  hydroelectric projects on Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand and the Navi Mumbai 
> airport in Maharashtra (Rs 7,972 crore). , The panel was set up by the ministry 
> of environment and forests to investigate if the state government and the 
> aluminium giant had complied with the Forest Rights Act and Forest Conservation 
> Act while mining for bauxite. , The report reveals exhaustive evidence to nail 
> the complicity of the state government in permitting Vedanta to flagrantly 
> violate the laws. , But the committee,  even as it recommended that the mining 
> project be disallowed,  stopped short of asking for prosecution of the officials 
> involved in what seems to be a blatant fraud that went unchecked for years. , 
> "The question of whom to prosecute is secondary. First, we have to consider the 
> clearance," said Union minister for enviroment and forests Jairam Ramesh. Asked 
> if the violations could be set right now,  the minister said,  "Without 
> prejudice to the existing case, it would be a tragedy that one violates laws and 
> still has a window of opportunity to just pay a penalty and get away with it 
> later." , The report will now be reviewed by the statutory Forest Advisory 
> Committee,  which will then give its recommendations to the ministry to take a 
> final call on the forest clearance. , The report says,  "This committee is of 
> the firm view that allowing mining in the proposed mining lease area by 
> depriving two primitive tribal groups of their rights over the proposed mining 
> area in order to benefit a private company would shake the faith of tribal 
> people in the laws of the land which may have serious consequences for the 
> security and well-being of the entire country." , The report records how the 
> state government falsified documents and concealed information from the central 
> government to facilitate the aluminium refinery in mining bauxite while the 
> company encroached upon government and tribal lands with impunity. , The 
> aluminium czar Anil Aggarwal's company has illegally -- despite legal notices 
> from the Orissa State Pollution Control Board -- begun building a refinery to 
> produce 6 million tonnes of aluminium per annum instead of the 1 million tonnes 
> per annum plant that it had got the green clearance for. , The committee -- that 
> included S Parasuraman,  director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Promode 
> Kant,  retired forest official; and Amita Baviskar,  professor at the Institute 
> of Economic Growth -- pointed out how right from the beginning,  the firm had 
> furnished falsified reports to the Centre to seek clearance,  and how the state 
> officials ranging from the highest bureaucrats to the collectors of two 
> districts either refused to enforce existing laws or simply colluded with the 
> company to deny the tribals right over their lands., Read more: Vedanta mines 
> illegal,  must be shut down: Green panel - India Business - Business - The Times 
> of India 
> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Vedanta-mines-illegal-must-be-shut-down-Green-panel/articleshow/6321872.cms#ixzz0wpLtMGod
> 
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