Tell us about your work and the experience of writing this report
We conduct research in different countries, studying the impacts of mining on people. We look at human rights violations. Recently, mining scandals have been reported from across India. Beyond corruption, we wanted to look into the roots of such mining scandals being reported from the country. We picked up case studies from Karnataka and Goa where scams have been reported. We found that illegal mining has had massive impacts on the farming communities as crops are destroyed during the transportation of ores from these areas.
Besides this, we also found these people in these communities suffer from various respiratory diseases, while basic necessities such as water supply systems have been damaged.
On the other hand, government has failed to implement any of the regulations while the most important laws related to mining and its environmental impacts have been sidelined. The mandatory environment impact assessment (EIA) has been reduced to a joke. Implementing agencies of the government have no idea about verifying the claims made in the EIA reports by mining companies.
| What the report recommends
On EIAs: Ensure regulatory officials focus attention on potential human rights and other community impacts of proposed new mines. End the practice of requiring mining firms to select and pay the consultants who conduct Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports. Initiate an independent review of EIA reports underpinning all existing mines, with a view to determining how many of them are based on materially false or misleading data. Temporarily halt mining operations of companies that submit EIA reports containing materially important false data.
Amendments: Empower the Expert Appraisal Committees to carry out a more thorough review of the potential negative impacts of proposed new mining projects, including through frequent site visits. This will require substantial additional staffing and other resources as well as a slower rate of project consideration and approval. Draft rules requiring a more thorough and detailed consideration of the results of any mandatory public consultations required by the approvals process for a new project.
For states: Consider the creation of new Lokayukta institutions, or bolster those offices already in existence, ensuring that they benefit from adequate levels of independence, resources and human capacity along the lines of Karnataka state’s institutional model.
To the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Health and on the Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation: Request to visit India to further evaluate the impact of inadequate government regulation of the mining sector on the rights of Indians to health and to water. |
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It has been observed that poorest of the communities reside in the most resource rich regions of India. How have you dealt with this in the report?
A proposed legislation, however seeks to empower these communities by letting them share the royalty for mining. On the other hand, the move might cause damage to the environment in these areas. What are your views on this?
You spent about two years in Africa where widespread human rights violations have taken place because of exploitation of mineral resources by companies. How is your experience there different from the Indian experience? Do the companies there share profits with the local communities?
Could you tell us about the nature of recommendations in this report?
Why have you chosen Goa to release this report? Illegal mining is also rampant in other states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. What was reason for investigating Goa and Karnataka?
While conducting your research and investigations, did you face any difficulties or threats?