Maharashtra villagers and environmentalists see red as the Radhanagri Sanctuary becomes yet another victim of industrial onslaught
Sanctuary in peril
THE inhabitants of Radhanagri taluka in
Maharashtra today are suspicious of
both the state forest department and the
Indian Aluminium Company (INDAL).
In the increasing list of protected areas
(PA) in India, threatened by industrial
pressures and demanding their denotification, Radhanagri Sanctuary is another
recent inclusion.
Located in the Kolhapur disrict in
the Western Ghats region, Radhanagri
was originally Dajipur Game Sanctuary
sprawled over 1,961 ha (19.6 sq kin),
famous for its gaur or Indian Bison.
Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1985,
the new sanctuary covers a much
larger area - 35,116.17 ha. This
expansion opened a pandora's box,
since, a part Of INDAL'; mining lease at
Idergunj where mining is yet to commence, fell in the heart of the sanctuary.
But INDAL claims that the collector,
Kolhapur, had confirmed in 1990 that
the lease area at idergunj was excluded
from the sanctuary.
Another bauxite mine Of INDAL,
operational since 1992, at Durgamanwadi, is located a few feet away from the
new boundary. Although all the procedures regarding rights, settlements and
acquisitions have been completed, the
final notification is yet to come. Sunil
Limaye, deputy conservator of forest,
Kolhapur, asserts that for all intents and
purposes, the rules and regulations for a
sanctuary applies there. INDAL officials,
however, claim that since the final notification is not through, they can continue mining in the lease area in Idergunj.
According to a study, a total of 419
faunal species and 325 floral species
abound in Radhanagri. The region
experiences very high rainfall -
between 5,000-6,000 mm, and has two
large reservoirs, which irrigates several
villages. During heavy rains, the catch-ment areas of both the reservoirs remain
submerged, except for elevated areas
like the plateaus which serve as corridors for widlife during floods and where
the Durgamanwadi and Idergunj mines
are located.
INDAL had signed a 30-year mining
lease on an area of 777.08 ha with the
government of Maharashtra in 1968.
The mineralised area was estimated to
be about 283 ha. While INDAL claims
that it carried out mining from 1973 to
1980, the forest department claims that
the company has been paying dead rent
for the leased land, and there is no evidence of any mining activity. "As no
royalty had been paid by the company
to prove any mining activity, the Forest
Conservation Act, 1980, holds good for
all the activities Of INDAL, including the
lease areas, and the commencement of
any activity hereon will require a fresh
proposal from the company," says Sunil
Limaye.
The possible impact on Radhanagri's
environment and wildlife is based on
the experiences of a previous site at
Chandgad in Belgaum now abandoned,
and the environmental problems faced
by the Durgamanwadi mines - both
outside the sanctuary. The Bombay
Natural History Society (BNHS)
carried out an Environmental Impact
Assessment at Idergunj. The BNHS' preliminary report indicates that the
impact of mining on the sanctuary will
be disastrous. The use of sophisticated
equipments like ripper dozers and
mobile crushers can certainly reduce the
impact, but not eliminate it altogether.
INDAL'S public relation officer,
however, asserts that "the lease area is a
barren wasteland where nothing grows,
especially not trees. Bauxite is generally
found in lateritic areas, which consists
of very little soil and is extremely
rocky."
But according to BNHS experts, the
region's grass provides fodder to the
livestock and wildlife, and rocks and
boulders provide excellent cover for
wildlife. The area incidentally, is a prime
habitat of the sloth bear, panthers,
gaurs, pangolins and mouse deer - all
enlisted under the Schedule I of the
Wildlife Act, 1972.
The Durgamanwadi mines provide insight into what can possibly happen at
Idergunj, as geologically the areas are
identical. The mines have been operating since 1992, and their overdumps fall
literally a few feet away from the sanctuary boundary, demarcated by a stretch
of piled up rocks. This is in blatant violation of the Environment Protection
Act, 1986, which regulates landuse
around PAS. According to the Act, any
industrial activity within the 10-km
zone of a reserved forest, and 25-km
zone of a sanctuary or national park,
should have the approval of the ministry
of environment and forests. INDAL has
not obtained any such clearance, and
the forest department, lacking jurisdiction in this matter, has attempted to
bring this to the attention of the district
administration. But no action has yet
been taken.
INDAL officials believe that
Durgamanwadi mine is a
trendsetter in "benign mining": mining is carried out
only on 30 ha at a time.
Through ripper dozers, the
top soil is gently cut open
with the minimum of dust
and noise pollution, and
there is continuous backfilling of the overburden, over
which trees are planted; a
three-feet parapet wall has
been constructed encircling
the mineralised zone, to prevent the run-out waters
from polluting the neigh- Resettlement
bouring reservoirs. All this incensed
has enabled a "greener and
better post-mining environment"
according to INDAL.
But researchers and experts deny
these tall claims. Baba Pansare, a local
tribal welfare activist says, "The level of
water in the reservoirs has definitely
shown a reduction in the last two to
three years. There are also apprehensions that the pollution of the reservoirs
may have led to recent spurt in cases of
kidney stones in the region."
INDAL's afforestation efforts too,
have faced flak. The abandoned mine of
Chandgad is now a barren area where
the pits still exist, and tree regeneration
has been just about 30-40 per cent. Sunil
Limaye also refutes INDAL'S claim that
75,000 endemic variety of saplings have
been planted in the plateau's slopes in
Durgamanwadi.
INDAL'S mining lease at
Durgamanwadi has always been suspect. This is because the lease was signed
with one Ajit Pandit, locally known as
Pandit Maharaj. INDAL refers to him as
the region's ex-Raja, whom the
Dhangars (a nomadic tribe of the area),
still revere. Refuting this, Baba Pansare
says, "Pandit Maharaj may have been a
local jagirdar. But how could he be the
owner of so much land as an individual?
If the ownership of land is in question,
then the lease signed with INDAL can also
be proved invalid!"
INDAL, however, maintains that the
lease is valid and legal, and that they
have obtained surface rights and not
ownership rights from Ajit Pandit. The
key role in the deed's signing was played
by Topkar Patil, an ex-INDAL employee
who later represented Pandit. All this
confusion has pushed the rehabilitation
and welfare of displaced tribal families
in the backburner.
Forty Dhangar families displaced by
the mines nurture a bitter grudge
against the authorities. One such resettled village is Khopechwadi, relocated
about a kilometre from the mines. The
row of single-room huts resemble slums
rather than the "two-room houses"
claimed to have been built by INDAL.
Bhagabai Sirke, a resident of the village
says, "They did not even give us finished
houses. Only the walls dividing one hut
from the other were built. We had to
construct the other walls and the roof."
As for compensation, the villages say
that they have been given 0.405 ha of
land per family, all of which is wasteland
where nothing has grown since the last
three years. When asked about easily
available clean water and electricity supply by INDAL, the villagers said that they
still fetch water from a distance of two
to three km.
Recently, irate villagers blocked the
road to the mines. Their burial site was
still within the mine area, and they were
adamant not to let mining to extend
upto it. To diffuse the situation, INDAL
asked Topkar Patil to intervene, but the
villagers refused to compromise. They
have now consolidated themselves to
form the Radhanagri Taluka Bachao
Samiti, with representatives from 65 village committees, and Jagdish Lingaraj as
their chairperson. Individuals like Baba
Adhav, chairman, Maharashtra State
Dam and Project Affected Peasant
Association are also spearheading the
movement. According to them, they are
not just fighting for social justice, but
also for a cleaner environment.
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