25-05-09

Mining – India 1
1. Politicians play hide and seek as sand mining booms 1
2. BHEL wins Rs 700 cr M'rashtra thermal plant contract 2
3. CAPEX cuts - JSW likely to defer West Bengal steel project 3
4. Copycat land protest by CPM 4
5. Authorities bury their heads in sand 5
6. CIL increase coal production target to 435 million tonnes 6
Mining – International 7
7. Bangladesh to build five coal-fired power plants 7
8. Rio Tinto to retain borates business 8
9. Acadian Mining clears hurdle 8
10. CoAL moving ahead with Vele coking coal mining plans 9
11. Vietnam plans biggest coal mining project 10
12. Excessive stone mining threatens river 11
13. RioZim Seeks Funding for Zimbabwe Diamond Mine 11
14. OZ Minerals lifts Prominent Hill estimates 12
Other News – India 13
15. 4 lakh tribals displaced due to Maoist activities 13
16. Work hazard for children 14
17. Child labour runs deep in Orissa 15
18. Punjab Govt directs disposal of pending cases in panchayats 16
19. Need to make SEZ laws error-free 17

Mining – India

Politicians play hide and seek as sand mining booms



Express News Service
First Published : 25 May 2009 03:52:00 AM IST
“The hands of all political parties are tainted with the sands of our rivers,” says Kanchi Amudhan, social activist and member of the Save Palar Movement.
“There was hardly any murmur on the issue during the recent elections.
The AIADMK alone made some passing reference to it, perhaps because it was out of power.” Prior to 2003, parts of the river basin was leased out to private parties for sand mining. During the AIADMK regime in 2003, a case was filed in the Madras High Court by Shanmugam Gowdar of Devalapuram village, near Ambur, in Vellore district to stop sand mining in areas around his village because it was affecting the water resources and thereby agriculture. The court banned private parties from carrying out mining and asked the government to take over the activity.
Venkatesan, who was part of the group that filed the case, said: “When we heard the verdict, we were happy.
We thought justice would be done because the government was taking charge of sand mining. But it was a huge disappointment. Sand mining became rampant and things became worser than ever before.” He added: “Again in 2006, when the DMK came to power, our hopes rose again. Things were alright for six months. Then they started vigorous mining and things became 10 times worser than what it was during the AIADMK period.” Rajendaran, a sand supplier, said: “When the DMK came to power, they opened up the gates for illegal sand mining.
They have allowed the rise of ‘yards’ managed by sand barons, who sell sand at a rate higher than the government’s.” He said the Palar sands were available in yards set up at Thirupoorur, Padalam and Thirukazhukuntaram, Medavakkam, Vanagaram, and Manali.” Buying from the yards was called second sale, he added.
Sand mining falls under the Public Works Department, headed by Minister Duraimurugan, who is also MLA from Katpadi in Vellore district. In 2008, he reportedly said at a public meeting: “Whoever says ‘Don’t take sand from the Palar’ are idiots. We are taking sand to desilt the river and increase the water capacity.” The people of the district are not amused by the Minister’s attempt at humour.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Politicians+play+hide+and+seek+as+sand+mining+booms&artid=ntC/t2bVrvc=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=


BHEL wins Rs 700 cr M'rashtra thermal plant contract

B S Reporter / New Delhi May 25, 2009, 11:40 IST

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has secured an order for the main plant package at the upcoming Bela Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Maharashtra, involving one new-rating unit of 270 MW.

Valued at Rs 703 Crore, the order for the greenfield power project, located at Bela in Nagpur district, has been placed on BHEL by Ideal Energy Projects Ltd (IEPL) reflecting the customer’s confidence in the company’s technological excellence and project execution capabilities.

Coming close on the heels of an order for a 600-MW thermal power plant of Korba West Power Company Limited in Chhattisgarh, this order is testimony to the confidence reposed by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in BHEL’s capabilities. It also reinforces BHEL’s leadership status in the execution of thermal power projects involving supply of state-of-the-art equipment, suited to Indian coal and Indian conditions.

Significantly, major private sector customers have been reposing confidence in BHEL and in fiscal 2008-09 itself, orders worth over Rs 13,000 crore were placed on the company by Jindal Power, Jaiprakash Power Ventures, GVK Power, Hindalco, HPCL Mittal Energy Ltd., Adani Power, Tatas and ACC, among others.

BHEL’s scope of work in the present contract envisages design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of Boiler, Steam Turbine and Turbo-Generator, along with associated Auxiliaries and state-of-the-art Controls & Instrumentation (C&I) including Generator and Unit Transformers.

BHEL has fully established state-of-the-art technology for the manufacture of thermal sets up to 1,000 MW rating. The company has also introduced new rating thermal sets of 270 MW, 525 MW and 600 MW to meet customer demand. In fiscal 2008-09, the installed capacity of BHEL-supplied Utility sets went up to 87,646 MW and the company maintained its share of 64% in the country's total installed capacity of 1,38,175 MW.

BHEL has been committed to the nation’s power development programme and has reaffirmed its commitment to the Indian Power Sector by equipping itself for the future, by way of technology, facilities and trained manpower to meet the country’s power forecast for the 11th Plan and beyond. For this, it has already enhanced its manufacturing capacity to 10,000 MW per annum and is further augmenting it to 15,000MW per annum which is proceeding apace and plans are afoot to hike this further to 20,000 MW by 2011-12.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bhel-wins-rs-700-cr-m%5Crashtra-thermal-plant-contract/62693/on


CAPEX cuts - JSW likely to defer West Bengal steel project
Monday, 25 May 2009
ET reported that JSW Bengal Steel venture appears to have been relegated to the back burner.

As per reports, JSW Group has reportedly asked Mr Biswadip Gupta, CEO of JSW for the Bengal project, to focus his energies on the group’s core steel businesses outside West Bengal in locations like Bellary, Karnataka.

The report cited Mr Gupta as saying that "I will now be shuttling between Bellary and Kolkata."

He however added that "The group has already invested INR 250 crore into the project. We have also completed acquisition of 4300 acres at Salboni. We are now building the boundary wall."

The report added that “The ongoing global financial crisis that led to funds drying up for Greenfield projects, took a heavy toll on the prospects of the new venture. Insiders, however, hinted that with banks refusing to extend loans to new projects, there is little chance of any progress on the steel venture at least for the next 1 year.”

JSW Bengal was incorporated as a JV company to set up a 10 million tonne at Salboni in West Midnapore with the Sajjan Jindal Group holding 89% and the remaining 11% being held by the West Bengal government. It was planning to set up the project in phases with a 3 million tonne capacity plant to come up initially. On November 2nd 2008, the foundation stone laying ceremony for the project was attended by the chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the then steel minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/25/OTU2OTc%3D/CAPEX_cuts_-_JSW_likely_to_defer_West_Bengal_steel_project.html


Copycat land protest by CPM
ABHIJEET CHATTERJEE
Durgapur, May 24: A poll-stung CPM has taken a leaf out of the Trinamul Congress’s book and forced work to stop at a state government coal-mining project, demanding better compensation for landlosers.

Some 1,000 villagers alle- gedly led by local CPM leaders stoned workers at the open- cast mine project in Bankura’s Borjora on Friday, demanding jobs for landloser families and cash for their farm labourers. One worker was injured.

Trinamul had earlier objected to the project with similar demands but with the CPM then in favour, 105 acres of the required 750 acres were acquired in 2007 and digging started last October.

Now CPM opposition has halted the project with 25 per cent of the work already done.

“We have stopped work since our workers are feeling insecure after the stone-throwing,” said P.P. Mishra, an official of Trans Damodar Coal Mining Project, a private firm hired by the government.

Aloke Mukherjee, Trinamul leader and Borjora gram panchayat chief, said: “The CPM is trying to hijack our agitation. We were agitating from the outset; now the CPM has placed the same demands. They are trying to copy us to improve their image.”

One perceived reason for the CPM’s poll debacle was its post-Nandigram image of land-grabber. The party is now desperate to acquire a “farmer-friendly” face.

The secretary of the CPM’s Borjora zonal committee, Tarun Raj, denied forcing the project to stop. “We submitted our charter of demands; we don’t know about Trinamul’s demands,” he said.

Bankura district magis-trate Sundar Majumder said: “The ADM will hold a meeting with the parties and project authorities in a day or two.”

The project was conceived after the state government appealed to Coal India in 2004 to mine coal in Bengal so that the steel and sponge-iron plants in Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore had uninterrupted coal supply.

Most of the land in Borjora is multi-crop, and the government offered Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6.4 lakh an acre. The compensation package included jobs for those losing two acres or more, 3.5 cottahs of developed residential plot against loss of a house, and 25 per cent of the land price to the sharecroppers.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090525/jsp/bengal/story_11016767.jsp


Authorities bury their heads in sand


Express News Service
First Published : 25 May 2009 03:49:00 AM IST
IT’S a multi-crore racket that has been flourishing for ages. Around election time, politicians raise feeble voices against it. Much of that is meaningless as there is hardly any will across the political spectrum to crush it.
After elections, even that bit of tokenism is forgotten.
At present, Tamil Nadu is passing through one such phase. Elections are done and the serious issue of illegal sand mining is in danger of slipping out of our collective focus. Should be worried? Absolutely because it is the sand layers that absorb, retain and store water in the riverbed and in the surrounding areas as ground water. If the sand belt is not maintained, the ground water level will plummet, as is the case in many areas.
But first a look at the figures.
According to the data put out by the PWD department for 2008-09, the government generated Rs 129 crore from sand mining. “But the actual sand market in the State is at least 10 times bigger. A more realistic ballpark estimate would be Rs 1,300 crore. The PWD data hides more than it reveals as does not account for the illegal mining,” says Rajendran, an industry insider.
Sand is measured in units. Two types of lorries are used for sand loading: a 10-wheeler and a six-wheeler. The rulebook says the 10-wheeler can load a maximum of four units. But most of them load 8-14 units of sand, alleges another insider.
Similarly, the norms stipulate that a sixwheeler can load 2-2.5 units of sand. In practice, they load around four units. But you won’t find the extra volume reflected in the record books as the money is paid as bribe.
At the government sand quarry, a lorry load of two units costs Rs 626, which has to be paid by demand draft to the PWD official at the site.
“But we actually end up paying Rs 800 per load.
Sometimes we pay Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200,” claims Rajendran.
Kancheepuram-based activist Ko Ra Mani shares an interesting insight. “After the contractor submits the DD for a lorry load, the PWD official issues him a token. The token is meant for just one lorry trip, but most contractors use it to make at least two to three trips a day. Money for the additional trips go directly into the officials’ pockets, so you won’t find it on the record books,” he alleges.
Then there is a sand baron mafia that allegedly operates in parts of the State. They have set up their own private ‘yards’ at places more accessible to the market away from the river basin government quarries. The cost of sand at these yards is much higher than that at government quarries. In fact, the cost depends on the sand’s proximity to the city.
For example, one unit of Palar sand at Thirkulukunteram sells for Rs 1,200; at Thirupoorur for Rs 1,400; and at Medavakkam for Rs 1,600. A load of sand (two units) fetches Rs 4,200 in Chennai. If transported to a neighbouring State, the cost gets doubled.
Illegal mining happens in most riverbeds like Palar, Cauvery, Mullaiperiyar and Tamarparani.
According to the rules on mining minor minerals (sand falls in that category), quarrying should not be done beyond a depth of one metre. Nobody, but nobody, follows the rule. Kancheepuram is among the worst affected areas as sand quarrying happens at depths of three-four metres, allege activists.
Is there a solution to the problem? Yes, say activists. One, the government must launch a crackdown on the mafia.
Two, builders should try out alternatives, such as manufactured sand and stone crusher dust, which will take the pressure out of natural sand. And three, till such time this is achieved, we must act as whistleblowers to expose the government-mafia nexus. We owe that to posterity.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Authorities+bury+their+heads+in+sand&artid=iWsSg7a7v3c=&SectionID=vBlkz7JCFvA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EL7znOtxBM3qzgMyXZKtxw==&SEO=


CIL increase coal production target to 435 million tonnes
Monday, 25 May 2009
Reuters reported that Coal India Limited aims to increase output in the year to end in March 2010, but would also need higher imports to feed to the growing energy needs of domestic industries.

Mr PS Bhattacharyya chairman of CIL said that it plans to increase its production to 435 million tonne at the end of this financial year, up by 7.7% from actual production of 403.73 million tonne in 2007-08.

Mr Bhattacharyya said "We are planning to invest INR 29 billion to develop new projects."

He added that CIL would need to import 6.6 million tonnes of coal in the current financial year as compared to 4 million tonnes imported a year ago.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/25/OTU3ODc%3D/CIL_increase_coal_production_target_to_435_million_tonnes.html


Mining – International

Bangladesh to build five coal-fired power plants
Sun May 24, 2009 4:39pm IST

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh is to build five 500 megawatt (MW) coal-fired electricity plants at a total cost of nearly $3.5 billion to tackle electricity supply problems, a senior official said on Sunday.
"The process for setting up the plants have already been started and it will take four years to finish the job," said A.S.M. Bazlul Haque, a director of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board.
"The tender will be floated soon to build the plants, which when completed will greatly ease the nagging power crisis," Haque told Reuters. Both local and global firms will be eligible to participate.
Coal for the new plants may be imported from India, Indonesia or Australia, the official said, adding the government had committed to raise power generation to 7,000 MW in 2014 from 5,000 MW now.
Bangladesh has five coal fields with around 2.55 billion tonnes of reserves but is unable to extract them until a national coal policy has been finalised.
About 80 percent of electricity in Bangladesh is produced by natural gas, but at present the country with 13.54 trillion cubic feet of proven and recoverable gas reserves faces up to 250 million cubic feet of gas shortages a day, officials say.
At present the country faces a daily electricity shortage of up to 2,000 MW a day.
Experts have urged the government to speed up coal mining policy, without which coal extraction is not possible.
"We cannot afford to sit idle on huge coal reserves of our own due to only lack of a decision about the ways of extraction," said Aminul Haque, a professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
The government has already completed negotiation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for conducting a Master Plan Study on Coal Power Development, officials said.
http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-39843420090524


Rio Tinto to retain borates business
Monday, May 25, 2009
Rio Tinto has taken its borates business off the market after the sales process did not achieve values acceptable to the company in the prevailing economic conditions. The sales process is continuing for other businesses slated for divestment, including talc.
Rio Tinto believes the borates business is a good fit within its overall portfolio, based on its asset base, share of global supply and presence in Asian markets. Rio Tinto has also decided not to sell its Jadar lithium-borate deposit in Serbia, which will now be transferred from its Exploration group to be managed within the borate business.
This year Rio Tinto has announced agreed sales totalling US$2.5 billion, including US$850 million for the undeveloped potash assets in Argentina and Canada, US$750 million for the Corumbá iron ore operation in Brazil, US$761 million for the Jacobs Ranch coal mine in the United States and US$125 million for the Ningxia aluminium smelter in China.
About Rio Tinto Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/rio+tinto+to+retain+borates+business_33128.html


Acadian Mining clears hurdle

By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Mon. May 25 - 4:46 AM
Creditors have approved a financial restructuring plan for ScoZinc Ltd., a wholly owned affiliate of Acadian Mining Corp. of Halifax.
"This was a very important hurdle to cross in Acadian’s restructuring effort," Will Felderhof, president and CEO of Acadian Mining, said in an interview Friday.
The plan, which received a nod from creditors Thursday, must now go to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on May 28 and then to investors June 9.
Acadian Mining is looking for approval for a restructuring that will see Golden River Resources Corp. of Australia invest as much as $10 million in the Nova Scotia company. Golden River has developed some of Australia’s biggest gold mines.
Acadian Mining has indicated it will use much of the cash to finance efforts to determine the commercial viability of its proven gold reserves in eastern Nova Scotia.
"Golden River brings a lot of money and expertise to the table," said Mr. Felderhof.
However, the chief executive officer said it is not all about the gold.
He said base metal prices will eventually return to levels that will make it economically viable to reopen ScoZinc’s Scotia Mine, a lead- and zinc-mining operation at Gays River, mothballed last year after markets tanked.
About 140 people were working at Scotia Mine when it closed.
Market prices for lead and zinc — affected dramatically by the health of the auto sector — are slowly beginning to show some signs of sustained improvement, Mr. Felderhof said.
Acadian Mining also has a significant barite property in Cape Breton, the CEO said. Barite is used to make drilling mud for the oil and gas industries.
The proposed settlement plan for creditors was prepared under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and monitored by Grant Thornton in Halifax.
A monitor’s report to creditors suggested the payout plan, which begins at two cents on the dollar, was the best possible arrangement for most creditors.
Among other things, the owners of the mine would be liable for an estimated $2.2 million in site remediation at Gays River if the restructuring plan is rejected.
The report to creditors also noted buildings and equipment at the mine will be worth significantly less if the restructuring plan is rejected and a forced liquidation sale is ordered.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1123905.html

CoAL moving ahead with Vele coking coal mining plans
Monday, 25 May 2009
Business Day reported that Coal of Africa has submitted environmental reports on its Vele coking coal project near Musina to the Department of Minerals and Energy and is continuing to schedule the start of mine development in the Q3.

But environmental groups warned recently that securing environmental permits would be lengthy and reiterated they were adamant in opposing the mine. Environmental lobbyist Mr Lance Rothschild said that the project would have wide ranging negative effects on the area.

Even though CoAL said that the project lay outside Mapungubwe National Park and immediate plans for the Trans Frontier Conservation Area it would still affect those sites. It lay within the larger area planned for the TFCA in future.

CoAL said that it understood there was a phase-2 plan for expanding the TFCA, but it had not been consulted formally. It said that it would spend ZAR 500 million over 30 years to ensure the highest levels of environmental and social performance.”

CoAL said that it expected to secure a mining permit for Vele by the Q3 and start production by the Q4. Vele will supply ArcelorMittal SA, replacing some of the coking coal that the steel maker is sourcing from outside SA.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/25/OTU3OTE%3D/CoAL_moving_ahead_with_Vele_coking_coal_mining_plans.html


Vietnam plans biggest coal mining project

State coal monopoly Vinacomin is drawing up plans to produce coal from Vietnam's biggest deposit in the northern region, the government said.

The deposit, located in an area of 3,500 square km spanning five northern provinces, Hung Yen, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hai Duong and Hai Phong, is estimated to hold 210 billion tons of coal, the government said in a report seen on Friday.

The Red River Delta Coal Basin is about 20 times larger than the country's current biggest coal deposit in the northern province of Quang Ninh, the report said.

“The Red River Delta Coal Basin will be developed through cooperation and joint ventures with foreign partners,” it said, without naming the foreign firms interested in the project.

“The project will create the country's biggest clean energy center, helping ensure national energy security by 2025,” it said.

Vinacomin and the Ministry of Industry and Trade are to submit a feasibility study to the government in July.

Local media quoted Vinacomin as saying it would invest VND73 trillion (US$5.97 billion) to develop 1 1 projects in the basin.

Vinacomin, a major coal supplier to China and Japan, has said it planned to export 22 million tons of the fossil fuel this year, up from 19.7 million tons last year.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/?catid=2&newsid=49127


Excessive stone mining threatens river

SHER BAHADUR KC
BUTWAL, May 24: The banks of the Tinau River are collapsing as a result of excessive stone mining. The river has been mined for the last ten years using excavators, which has considerably increased its depth. Environmentalists say the current situation at Tinau will prove a disaster for the area if precautions are not taken soon.

Currently, three dozen excavators are extracting hundreds of truckloads of stone from the river´s 12 km length. The Water Resource Act of 1992 prohibits the use of any equipment while extracting materials from a river. The District Development Committee, who handed over the contract to extract the stone, has clearly disregarded the Act.

The haphazard extraction of stones has increased the river´s depth by 10 meters over the past 10 years. According to environment engineer Khetraj Dahal the depth of the river under the Tinau Bridge at the East West Mahendra Highway has also increased by a meter over the past year. Dahal says if the extraction continues, the bridge will surely collapse within the next few years.

Last year a flood in the Tinau River swept away 300 houses. Experts say if efforts aren´t made to conserve the river, it will see a fate similar to that of Koshi.

“Even if countless meetings have been held on the issue, no one is concerned with conservation,” says Dahal.


http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=5418


RioZim Seeks Funding for Zimbabwe Diamond Mine

By Zach Helke, Avi Krawitz Posted: 05/24/09 10:13

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RAPAPORT... Rio Tinto Zimbabwe Limited (RioZim) is renewing its mining efforts in Zimbabwe with hopes of attracting foreign investment as hints of political reform filter through. RioZim and its partner Rio Tinto are planning a private placement with existing shareholders to bring in new capital to new and existing projects in Zimbabwe.

An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is expected this week to vote on the proposal. According to the Zimbabwe Financial Gazette, shareholders will be asked to vote to allow RioZim to nearly double its share capital to 62,487,582 ordinary shares.

The move comes as prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai breaks with president Robert Mugabe’s policy of shunning the west and is looking for aid from the U.S. ad Britain. Tsvangirai’s Movement of Democratic Change party also holds the finance ministry in Zimbabwe’s national unity government.

“The liberalization of the economy along with some of the fiscal measures pronounced in the recent budget and monetary policy statements induce a sense of hope particularly for gold producers who for many years have been subjected to unviable local financial arrangements,” RioZim said in a recent statement.

RioZim operates the Murowa Diamond Mine, as well as gold and nickel mines and exploration projects in Zimbabwe. Its main focus now, however, is to invest $200 million it hopes to raise from the placement, to revamp and expand operations at Murowa.

The company hopes to expand processing at Murowa tenfold to some 2 million tonnes per annum, and therefore significantly ramp up production from the 237,058 carats of diamonds the mine produced in 2008. The Murowa operation saw profits rise 64 percent to $2.3 million in 2008.

http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=26473


OZ Minerals lifts Prominent Hill estimates
Monday, 25 May 2009
Brisbane Times reported that shares in OZ Minerals rose after the miner announced an increase in resources at its Prominent Hill copper and gold mine in South Australia.

OZ Minerals said that resources at its Western Copper deposit had increased 32% to 245,000 tonnes of contained copper.

It said that ''At the first available opportunity drilling of the deposit will be reactivated to further expand the deposit.''

The deposit is situated about 800 meters west of the Prominent Hill open pit, which is currently being mined and requires further drilling to enable the calculation of an initial ore reserve.

The company said that studies are under way examining the viability of developing an underground mine immediately beneath and to the east of the open pit.

OZ Minerals describes Western Copper as it’s most promising near mine deposit identified to date. It said that ''However, the remainder of the Prominent Hill region is highly prospective with multiple iron oxide copper gold targets within trucking distance of the Prominent Hill plant still to be tested.''

Prominent Hill is OZ Minerals' sole asset following the sale of its other projects to China Minmetals Non ferrous Metals and China Sci-Tech Holdings. The deals offer debt laden OZ Minerals a financial lifeline, given debt of about USD 1 billion was threatening to send it into administration. The Minmetals deal is expected to be complete by mid to late June while the sale of the Martabe gold and silver project in Indonesia to China Sci-Tech Holdings Limited is expected to be complete by early June.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/05/25/OTU3OTg%3D/OZ_Minerals_lifts_Prominent_Hill_estimates.html

Other News – India

4 lakh tribals displaced due to Maoist activities
24 May 2009, 0933 hrs IST, PTI

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NEW DELHI: More than four lakh tribals have been displaced due to extremists activists by Maoists in various parts of India, a non-government
organisation has claimed in its latest report.

"A total of 4,01,425 tribals have been displaced due to armed conflicts and ethnic conflicts across India," Asian Indegenous and Tribal People's Network (AITPN), which has special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), claimed in its report.

"These displaced persons (tribals) have been living miserable lives without basic amenities including food, water, shelter, medical services, sanitation and livelihood opportunities," it added.

About 1.2 lakh members of Gutti Koya tribes of Bastar and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh fled to Andhra Pradesh's Khammam between January to June last year to escape violence by the maoists and the salwa judum activists, the report said.

Initially, they were provided humanitarian assistance by the Andhra Pradesh Government and tribals benefitted from NREGA and were also provided with ration cards.

But, these benefits were later withdrawn by the Andhra Pradesh Government soon after maoists killed more than 30 Greyhound personnel in an ambush at Chitrakonda reservoir in Orissa on June 29 last year and police accused Gutti Koya tribals of being supporters of the maoists, the report said.

The AITPN said that about 36,991 tribals from 201 villages in Dantewara district and 10,949 tribals from 275 villages in Bijapur district are living in 23 government-run makeshift camps in the state following the armed conflicts in the region.

Over 96,000 tribals, mainly Bodos, are staying in relief camps since the communal clashes broke out between Bodos and "non-tribal" Muslims in Assam in August 2008.

In Tripura, 30,000 Bru tribals of Mizoram, displaced after an ethnic clash a few years ago, continue to languish in six relief camps and struggle for their basic rights, AITPN said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/4-lakh-tribals-displaced-due-to-Maoist-activities/articleshow/4571168.cms


Work hazard for children
- Legal laxity blamed for govt inaction
OUR CORRESPONDENT

Feeding hunger
Cuttack, May 24: At least 1.48 lakh children across Orissa still wipe floors as domestic helps, serve at roadside eateries and highway dhabas, while others are trapped in hazardous occupations.

Two-and-a-half years after the government banned hiring of children as domestic helps or employing them in restaurants and eateries, the law remains “more or less as paper”.

“In the past 30 months, a mockery seems to have been made out of the law. While lakhs of children still work in the banned professions, engaging child labour in hazardous sectors has become a habit,” said Bikash Das, the chairman of Liberated Childhood Movement, a legal advocacy group working against child labour in the state.

Official records assessed under the RTI by the group revealed that 160,462 children were identified across 20 districts as child labourers under the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.

In all, 351 prosecutions were launched against offending employers, but not a single conviction had taken place during the past two-and-a-half years, it was revealed.

In case of Bargarh, only 2,082 child labourers could be identified, while 37,918 of them were found in Rayagada and just 11 in Balasore, according to records.

Of the 3,079 child labourers detected in Angul 2,777 were found in the hazardous sector. The cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar were categorised as zero child labour areas.

Terming the findings “appalling”, he claimed that there were far more children working as domestic helps in restaurants and dhabas across the state.

“There is a lack of political will and preparedness on the part of the government to implement the law. Efforts need to be directed to change the prevailing attitude of breaking laws,” Das said.

Even though the government has taken initiatives like establishing 259 National Child Labour Project schools in 20 districts, only 11,498 were rescued and rehabilitated.

On their part, state labour department officials admitted that there had been acquittals in most of the 351 prosecutions initiated and over 80 were pending before different courts. “Legal matters take time and conviction is the court’s prerogative,” a senior labour department official said on condition of anonymity.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090525/jsp/nation/story_11014704.jsp


Child labour runs deep in Orissa
Express News Service
First Published : 25 May 2009 09:54:59 AM IST
Last Updated : 25 May 2009 11:33:40 AM IST
CUTTACK: More than 1.60 lakh children have been identified as child labourers in 20 of the 30 districts in Orissa as per the amended Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act, 1986, till 2008. And, before their rescue and efforts for rehabilitation, the bulk of the children had been engaged in hazardous sectors which also include dhabas, eateries, and domestic helps. This has been revealed by official documents obtained from the individual districts through RTI by the Liberated Childhood Movement (LCM).
The rest 10 districts of Cuttack, Khurda, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Koraput, Phulbani, Sonepur and Nabarangpur have no figures to put across, though the major chunk of them house the largest cities of the State including Bhubaneswar. And, urban centres are more inclined towards the child labour practices.
The records have brought to the fore the fact that despite stringent child labour laws, the practice is still deep rooted and habitual among the population in the State. Lack of exemplary punishment for those engaging children in hazardous sectors as well as non-implementation of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) schools properly have become the main obstacles in enforcement of the law.
While many cases are sub judice, the way they have been handled by the Government, leading to its defeat and facilitating relief for the perpetrators of the offence, seems to be encouraging the practice, alleges chairperson of LCM Bikash Das.
According to him, 74 prosecutions have been filed in Sambalpur between 1998 and 2008, nine cases in Bargarh, two each in Boudh, Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur districts. Barring one in Jagatsinghpur, none has been punished.
Of the total 46 cases in Keonjhar, 33 have been disposed of with the acquittal of the accused and the rest are still sub judice.
The state of the NCLP schools are pathetic from infrastructural deficiencies to rehabilitation interventions. There are 26 NCLP schools in Bargarh, 39 in Dhenkanal, 43 in Jharsuguda, one in Keonjhar, 50 in Kalahandi, 40 in Malkangiri, 40 in Nayagarh and 20 in Nuapada while Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal, Boudh and Angul districts do not have these facilities, as revealed by the RTI answers.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Child+labour+runs+deep+in+Orissa&artid=qhLeySQ7BNk=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=

Punjab Govt directs disposal of pending cases in panchayats
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Government on Sunday directed all the officers of the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to dispose off all cases pending for more than three months within one month.
Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, while presiding over a meeting of senior officers of the department here today, said that he was committed to the completion of the development works at the grass roots level at the earliest.
The minister asked the officers to personally supervise and ensure completion of the works at the rural areas in the villages.
Brahmpura, reviewing the turnover of annual auctions of various lands under the village panchayats, directed to enhance the rate of annual auctions so that the panchayats could utilise the money for development works.
He also emphasised on full utilisation of the NREGA funds so that the job card holders under this scheme could get the remuneration at least for 100 days in a year.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200905241880.htm


Need to make SEZ laws error-free

TNC Rajagopalan / New Delhi May 25, 2009, 0:36 IST


Trinamool Congress leader and new Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for a review of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) policy. Whoever takes over as the Union commerce minister will have to do it in any case, as it is nearly four years since the SEZ Act, 2005, came into effect and over three years since the SEZ Rules, 2006, were put in place. A performance assessment can do no harm but certainly the SEZ developers who have already acquired land and sunk their money in developing infrastructure and the units, which have obtained approvals and started their operations, should not be left wondering for long as to whether any policy changes will affect them. They need to be assured quickly that any policy changes will affect only the intending SEZ developers and SEZ units.

Apparently, Banerjee is mainly concerned about diversion of fertile farmland for creating SEZs. She, of course, knows that the issue of diversion of farmland for industrial use is not SEZ-specific. Any industrial unit will require land. A policy is already in place regarding the role of governments in such matters and rehabilitation of displaced persons. Any review of the SEZ policy must necessarily take a holistic view of all the aspects related to industrial development and try to strike a better balance between the need to take our manufacturing capabilities to new heights and optimal use of the available resources, always keeping in view the interests of the affected persons.

Another point that would merit review is the legal dispensation. The SEZ Act, 2005, and SEZ Rules, 2007, have been relatively stable. Some glitches, however, need to be sorted. For example, the Act does not provide for denotification of SEZs. The Rules provide for sale in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), but not for stock transfer to DTA. The Rules say that if no export incentives are to be claimed, goods can be sent from the DTA to SEZ under cover of only an invoice but exporters need to submit bill of export as proof of exports.

Besides such hiccups in the SEZ Act and Rules, even other laws are not fully aligned with the concept of treating SEZs as foreign territories. Initially, the finance ministry granted exemption from service tax for the services provided from DTA but consumed in SEZ. This gave rise to many disputes. Then the finance ministry ordained that tax must be paid on all taxable services provided from DTA to SEZ, but the tax will be refunded if the services are rendered in connection with the authorised operations. Now, it says that tax on services consumed within the SEZ will be exempted, but for services partially or wholly consumed outside the SEZ, tax paid will be refunded. Why the finance ministry could not think of applying the Export of Services Rules, 2005, for supply of services from the DTA to SEZ is something difficult to understand.

The new commerce minister must not only review the SEZ policy but also constitute a committee of legal experts familiar with SEZ laws and other tax laws to advise on corrections required. He must create the confidence that the government is sensitive to the demands for drafting error-free laws and proper alignment of all related legal provisions.

E-mail: tncr@sify.com

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/need-to-make-sez-laws-error-free/359093/