Labour issues and pollution problems in mining in Panna District, Madhya Pradesh (MP), India
From Maps4change
Title: Labour Issues and pollution Problems in Mining in Panna District [[1]],_India, Madhya Pradesh (MP), India
Audiences: Co-operative (Workers), Citizens
Abstract: Panna Block (24°38'37"N 80°1'58"E) diamond which involves workforce which is largely unorganized with leases spreading in patches and large in numbers, the physical and social elements of the block in workers in the block, unions or cooperative functional as well as defunct, present, overlay of constituency assembly over administration boundaries as well as leases etc.
Panna block in Madhya Pradesh is a center for mining [[2]] of precious stones like diamond which involves workforce which is largely unorganized with leases spreading in patches and large in numbers. What we would like to do is to bring forward the physicaland social elements of the block in terms of information on number of workers in the block, unions or cooperatives functional as well as defunct, present overlays of constituency assembly over administrative boundaries as well as leases etc. This will present the wholesome picture of the block to the citizens as well as campaigners. Almost all the blocks are under the influence of mining. The major concern is towards critical pollution of the region including depletion of drinking water resources due to mining. There is not much location specific information on the impacts, though there are singular references to impact events. The aim would be to generate local information using techniques which are easily learnable as well as transferred to local campaign organizations and individuals to plan effectively.
POSTER [3]
MAP [4]
WEBSITE [5]
An Insight of the Issue
Panna district in MP ranks 41st out of the 45 districts in terms of human development index calculated by the Madhya Pradesh Human Development Report of 2002 It is amongst the five poorest districts in the state in terms of income. Ironically, Panna is also the lone diamond-producing district of the country; one doesn't have to dig too deep to find diamonds here. Any fissure or rock could be bearing the precious stone. A significant portion of the mining is done in the unorganized sector which is also the only source of livelihood for many people in the district. Despite that, labourers do not get mere than Rs15, 000 for a stone worth Rs 2 lakh.
What does thrive in Panna is illegal mining; only 20 per cent of the mining in Panna is mined on revenue land. The rest is mined illegally in forest areas. The reason: revenue land is costlier and is far easier to break the laws and mine inside the forests. While licenses were given for 1,339 shallow mines, over 3,000 illegal mines flourish in the district, which mine about 16,000 carats of diamond out of this, only 335 carats were deposited at the government diamond office in 2005. Local miners and traders say that over 90 per cent of the diamonds mined in the 24 villages are sold illegally or smuggled out of Panna to polishing units in Mumbai and Surat. A majority, 84000 carats, is excavated by the NMDC in its Majhgaon kimberlitic pipe.
The diamonds mined by individuals are supposed to be deposited at the diamond office of the district. They are auctioned four times a year. The amount, after deducting the royalty and the taxes, is given to the excavator. But the process is so complicated and time-consuming that no one wants to deposit the diamonds with the diamond office. If one has deposited a diamond just after an auction, the excavator has to wait for three months for the stone to be sold and the proceeds to be given to him. To pay back the money the individual has borrowed to unearth the stone. He has to take loans from moneylenders at high interest rates. To run a mine for a year one needs to invest anything between Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh, whereas the average produce from a mine is two carats. Hence, people prefer selling the stone in the black marker though at throwaway prices. The state's diamond department says the lack of support and cooperation from the forest department and the police have led to the increase in illegal mining in the district. It says that the department is not adequately staffed to monitor all the leases given out in a year.
Diamond mining, legal and illegal, is impacting the Panna Tiger Reserve. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, tailings from the NMDC – run diamond mine in Majhgaon are being dumped into the stream that joins the Ken River which in turn flows inside the Panna Tiger Reserve. The noise from the blasting operations disturbs the wildlife and the solid waste is dumped outside the gates of the reserve. The Majhgaon mines, located just outside the reserve, were closed in 2005 by the pollution control board on directions from the Supreme Court. After renewal of lease in 1995, the mines were operating without any environmental clearance. With the lease ending on July 14, 2005, and allegations of encroachment inside the Gangau National Park the mines were closed down. Illegal mining inside the Panna Tiger Reserve had turned it into a fragmented island habitat. The tiger population had reduced to a vulnerable two-three tigers per 100 sq km. The NMDC has approached the court to reopen the mines and the final hearing is awaited. The court to reopen the mines and the final hearing is awaited.
Though sandstone mining inside the reserve has also been stopped, but till 2005 there were reports of sandstone being mined in the buffer area of the reserve. Forests in Shikarpura, Magarpura, Nadrpura, Sigra Jhanjhar and Devri have almost 200-250 functional sandstone mines.
More threats to the reserve are emerging. The Union government plans of build a dam and two power stations across the Ken River and a railway line through the forests to link Khajuraho to Satna. Also, the district planning committee is keen on denotifying a portion of the former Gangau sanctuary to probably restart mining and agriculture. Also, the Ken-betwa river link proposes to divert surplus waters of the river Ken at Daudhan (2.5 km upstream of existing Gangau weir) through a Ken-betwa link canal to river Betwa for meeting water requirements in the water-deficit Betwa basin.
Statistic:
The state is the only producer of diamonds in the country. Of the 45,80,336 carats of deposits, 31.5% are located in Panna district, an area witnessing a spate of illegal diamond mining activity. Panna in Madhya Pradesh is the only producer of diamonds in the country. The region accounts for 31.7% of the 4,58,0336 carats of deposits in India. Ironically it is among the five poorest districts in the state in terms of income. It ranks 41st out of 45 districts in human development index (HDI) in Madhya Pradesh. Diamond mining in the district is primarily conducted by the unorganised sector and is a source of livelihood for many people. Only 20% of the mining here is legal. While licenses were given for 1,339 shallow mines, over 3000 illegal mines exist, which extract about 16000 carats of diamond. Over 90% of the diamonds mined are illegally sold or smuggled out of Panna. To make matters worse, daku extort money from illegal diamond miners for protecting them against other miscr
Situation:
The situation of mining in Madhya Pradesh and in Panna from where he comes. In Madhya Pradesh there are total eight main companies like NMDC, RIIDC, HCL, Jindal iron and steel and RINT. Diamond, Granite, Marble, Limestone, Bauxite, Blackstone, copper, etc is minerals found in Madhya Pradesh. The private contractors operate many of the mining sites. Private contractors are involved in the Panna Diamond mining areas. They always scare local people by beating and killing them. They cheat tribals by taking their lands by paying mere amount. Though precious and costliest Diamonds are found in the lands of Panna, People are poor they don’t have food to eat and no livelihoods. Diamonds are curse for them. They are mentally and physically harassed.
Majhgawan Mining Area:
The only diamond producing mine in India operated by National Mineral Development Corporation, produced ~ 80,000 ct diamonds during 2004-2005. Here diamond mining stopped in July 2005. Restarted on 19th June 2009.
REIA Study for the Proposed 0.5 MTPA Majhgawan Extension Limestone Deposit (54.825-ha) near Sarda & Majhgawan Villages, Sidhi District, MP [[6]]
Sakariya:
Diamond Exploration Places.
Ramkhiriya:
In year 1969 NDMC explored 16,02 Carat Diamond named Giri other then Majhagawan.
Janakpur:
Diamond Exploration Places.
Sirsi Gariyar:
Diamond Exploration Places
Barha Khurd:
Diamond Exploration Places.
Data:
Various Shapefile, Satellite Imagery
Base map, census, Field Visit, Dialogue with cooperatives, Gathering information through RTI's,
Software: Manifold GIS (Digitization), ILWISS (Classification, Analysis), Google Earth (Mapping).
Map Type: Dynamic, collaborative, customizable, open data (Google Map)
Other media content: Additional media (text, images, video) content to be added whenever possible/available.
ANSHUMAN GIS Specialist, Environics Trust, Delhi PG Diploma (Geoinformatics, IIRS, ITC-University of Twente, The Netherlands) anshuman.mbait@gmail.com Research, Environics Trust, Delhi, Environics Trust, Delhi in Madhya Pradesh is a center for mining of precious stones like term of information on number of tuency Imagery(Landset Temporal, Google Image, Bing Image), Topo fold Map), Online. , sheet.
Socio political: Workers Rights, Accountability, Building Alliance, Acceptability.
Comments (from the workshop):
- . What do we want to achieve by this ? i think this could be also used for exposing illegal mining in the
area and leading to "CLOSURE OF MINES TOO". [MADURESH]
- . Same Question: To improve working condition, avoid middle people- probably don't want to close
mines, right ? [Arati Choksi] -To organize the coop's and empower workers mining and try to get in information and accommodate.
Information on Further Reading:
Panna Diamond Mine. [7]
Panna diamond mines reopen after four years. [[8]]
Ramesh hints at Panna-like danger in 18 Tiger Reserves. [9]
Geological Survey of India-Diamond. [10]
--Anshuman 05:15, 29 March 2010 (UTC)
LinkedIn Profile: [11]
Facebook Profile: [12]
Twitter Me : [13]
