Mining – India
1. Formation of an Empowered Committee of Secretaries with mandate to consider and recommend proposals to Coal India Limited to invest abroad
2. India to invest in Namibia's mining sector
3. Posco chief allays fears on project
4. High Court quashes mining lease granted to company
5. Government targets 100,000 carats of diamonds from Panna mines
6. Orissa High Court issues notices in mining scam
7. Coal India May Invest $1.5 Billion in Overseas Mines (Update1)
8. Meghalaya moves towards uranium mining
9. Posco to split mining, steel projects
Mining – International
10. Mongolia lifts bar to Rio mine
11. Crandall Canyon payouts moving through Utah courts
12. Govt plays down plans to mine DOC land
13. One dead after riot in Guinea mining town
14. Farmers get mining exploration legal win
Other News
15. Jhabua tribals denied land under Forest Rights Act
16. No deviations, please
17. Lack of awareness affects NREGS implementation, says minister
18. Drought, rain trigger migration
19. Amendment to article 243D of the Constitution of India for enhancing reservation for women in Panchayats to 50 %
20. 50 per cent water saved in model farm
Mining – India
Formation of an Empowered Committee of Secretaries with mandate to consider and recommend proposals to Coal India Limited to invest abroad
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14:3 IST
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved the proposal that the Empowered Committee of Secretaries, constituted earlier for considering proposals to be taken up by the International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), set up jointly by SAIL/RINL, NTPC, NMDC/CIL for acquiring coal properties abroad, will also consider proposals for CIL for investments in coal assets abroad, which are beyond the powers of the CIL Board. Such proposals for investment abroad will be submitted by CIL to the above Empowered Committee. The recommendations of the Empowered Committee will be placed before the CCEA for approval. A representative of the Planning commission has also been included in the aforesaid Committee. CCEA also approved the guidelines, to be followed by CIL for investments abroad.
The objectives which the Coal India Ltd. proposes to achieve are:
(i) To bring coking coal and high grade ash thermal coal to India to meet the national demand. This may be done by acquiring coal properties abroad or investing in joint ventures with coal mining companies.
(ii) To adopt best global mining and management practices and to transform CIL into an efficient global coal company with trans-national operations. (iii)
The demand for coal in India has been outpacing its supply from indigenous sources and the domestic coal production has not been able to keep pace with the demand. Demand for coal is forecast to increase sharply to about 731 Million Tonnes (MT) by 2011-12 from the current 474 MT. Further, it is expected to be increased by 1,125 MT by 2016-17 and 2,555 MT by 2031-32. Since India does not have enough reserves of metallurgical and high grade coal, to meet the projected gap between demand and supply, efforts are being made to secure resources abroad from where long term supply of coal at reasonable prices could be assured.
In such transactions, negotiation and finalization of deals normally take place in a very short time frame. Therefore, expeditious approval would be required in respect of investment abroad, as the speed of decision making is the key issue. Hence, in order to facilitate expeditious decision making, it is considered necessary to utilize the services of the earlier constituted Empowered Committee of Secretaries for ICVL, also for the CIL’s investment proposals abroad, which are beyond the existing financial delegation to a Navratna company, i.e. Rs.1000 crore. This is also a big step forward to grant greater autonomy to the major Navratna PSU like CIL.
The strategy of CIL in the short term with immediate returns would be by way of establishing joint venture or equity participation with companies mining meteorological coal and/or low ash thermal coal mines. In a medium term prospective, CIL would be scouting for equity participation with companies in green field projects and finally in long term, the CIL’s intentions would be to acquire/lease coal blocks and mine them on a standalone basis.
It would help CIL to get speedy clearance of its investment proposals abroad which ultimately will help in bridging the ever increasing gap of demand and supply in the coal sector. It may also act as a motivating factor, as greater autonomy has been granted to CIL. In long run, all the consumers of this vital resource would be benefited, specifically the infrastructure sectors such as steel, cement and power etc.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation for development of coal mining in Mozambique has been signed between Government of India and Government of Mozambique. Two coal Blocks have been awarded to Coal India Ltd. through bidding process for carrying out exploration and future mine development. To promote Indian interest in Mozambique, Government of India is considering approval of sovereign fund for development of Apex Planning Organisation (APO) and Apex Training Organisation (ATO) to look after scientific mine planning in coal projects in Mozambique as well as train people of Mozambique in different aspects of coal mining.
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=52172
India to invest in Namibia's mining sector
27 Aug 2009, 1604 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: India is to ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Namibia for investing in its lucrative mining sector, it was announced here
Thursday.
The agreement will be signed during Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula's official visit here next week, an official said.
The cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Thursday, approved the signing of the MoU.
"The MoU will provide the umbrella framework for mutual cooperation in the field of mining and will encourage and promote mutual cooperation between the two countries in this sector," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
"As you are aware, Namibia has rich deposits of diamonds and other minerals," she added.
Officials declined to give further details, saying these would be revealed after the MoU was signed.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News-by-Industry/-India-to-invest-in-Namibias-mining/articleshow/4940925.cms
Posco chief allays fears on project
TNN 26 August 2009, 10:38pm IST
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BHUBANESWAR: Allaying fears that Posco might shift its steel project out of Orissa, chairman of Posco-India Dong Hee Lee here on Wednesday told
chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his company is committed to executing the Rs 52,000 crore-steel project in the state.
Lee's assurance came close on the heels of a statement by Union steel and mines minister B K Handique, which he subsequently withdrew, that Posco is likely to move out of the eastern state. Lee, a top honcho of the South Korean steel giant, discussed with Naveen and other senior state government functionaries about the progress achieved by the company's proposed steel mill near Paradip and sought government help to overcome hurdles before the 12 million tonne per annum project, sources said.
Emerging from the meeting, Lee told journalists that the company has no plans to change its project site or even exclude Dhinikia, the anti-land acquisition group's bastion, from its plans. He revealed the company's plans to sort out legal complications hitting the mega project by the end of this year and also to begin ground leveling work from early 2010.
The CM assured Lee of his government's support. The government has recommended to the Centre to give prospecting license to Posco for the Kandahar iron ore mines in Sundergarh district. The project has not been able to make much headway since an MoU for the purpose was signed between the state government and Posco in June, 2005, primarily because of land acquisition problems.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bhubaneswar/Posco-chief-allays-fears-on-project/articleshow/4938137.cms
High Court quashes mining lease granted to company
Staff Reporter
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Reddy Veeranna challenged the grant of mining lease to Vibutigudda Mining Company
State has not considered other applications and that there were procedural violations: petitioner
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BANGALORE: In a significant judgment, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed a mining lease given by the State Government to a private company and directed the State to consider all applications for before granting the fresh lease.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice V.G. Sabhahit, passed the order on a petition by Reddy Veeranna who had challenged the grant of mining lease in Sandur taluk of Bellary district to Vibutigudda Mining Company.
Vibutigudda Mining Company had been granted the lease under the March 15, 2003 notification. It commenced mining in 2007. Mr. Reddy Veeranna had challenged the decision, saying that the State had not considered other applications and that there were procedural violations. The Bench accepted the contention of Mr. Reddy Veeranna and set aside the grant of mining lease to Vibutigudda Mining Company. It asked the State to consider all applications for mining lease and pass orders in accordance with the mineral policy of the State. In another case, the same Bench set aside a single judge order quashing transfer of mining lease renewed in favour of Ramgad Minerals Private Limited in Bellary district.
The row between Perk Inn International and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) over the acquisition of land was sorted out on Wednesday when both the parties filed a memo stating that the issue had been amicably resolved.
NHAI had acquired lands belonging to Perk Inn in Konena Agrahara in Begur hobli for construction of an elevated highway on Hosur Road. Perk Inn had claimed that one of the loops for the elevated structure would come in the way of access to its land.
Both NHAI and Perk said the issue had been sorted out amicably.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082760160600.htm
Government targets 100,000 carats of diamonds from Panna mines
2009-08-26 13:40:00
State-run National Mining Development Corp (NMDC) plans to produce close to 100,000 carats of diamonds from the Panna diamond mines in Madhya Pradesh by 2010-11, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said here Wednesday.
The Panna mines were reopened this month after being closed for four years over environmental issues. NMDC, a state-run unit under the steel ministry, extracts minerals across the country.
'We will invest more than Rs.20 crore to acquire one lakh carats of diamonds from the Panna mines in the next financial year,' Singh told IANS at his residence, Holly Lodge, located in Jakhu hills here.
'We have requested the Madhya Pradesh government to allow NMDC to explore more areas adjoining the Panna mines so that the area could emerge as a diamond hub. Moreover, Chattarpur district is also rich in diamond reserves,' he said.
Maintaining that this would attract investments in diamond cutting and polishing, the minister added: 'The NMDC is also keen to explore other mineral-rich areas in Madhya Pradesh. Shahdol and Umaria districts are rich in coal deposits.'
The Panna mines are Asia's largest mechanised diamond mines, and were commissioned in 1968-69 with an initial capacity of 12,500 carats per annum.
'In this fiscal, NMDC aims to acquire 35,000 carats of diamonds from Panna. In the next two months, the goal is to mine 5,000 carats,' Singh said.
The mines, which had been closed since August 2005, were reopened after the Supreme Court's permission was taken. The mines fall in the Gangau Wildlife Sanctuary.
'On the direction of the Supreme Court, NMDC has deposited Rs.10.69 crore with the state government as net present value for reopening the diamond mines,' he said, and described it as a 'great achievement' by the United Progressive Alliance government in its first 100 days of administration.
'This will not only result in additional revenue for NMDC but will also provide direct employment to more than 250 people,' Singh said.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=ji0nEdcihdc&title=Government_targets_100_000_carats_of_diamonds_from_Panna_mines
Orissa High Court issues notices in mining scam
2009-08-26 20:30:00
The Orissa High Court has issued notices to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the state and the central governments in a case of alleged illegal mining in Keonjhar district.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice I.M. Quddusi issued the notices Tuesday while admitting a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Subrat Tripathy Aug 19.
Demanding a probe by the CBI, Tripathy has cited the reasons as to why the state vigilance department, which is enquiring into the multi-crore scam in the mineral-rich district, cannot unearth the corruption.
The state government had asked the vigilance department last month to investigate illegal mining in 39 hectares of the district.
The vigilance department, earlier this month, arrested eight people including mining and forest department officials and a mine owner for their involvement in illegal mining.
The next hearing in the case is Oct 14.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=ji0u4lbjcaj&title=Orissa_High_Court_issues_notices_in_mining_scam
Coal India May Invest $1.5 Billion in Overseas Mines
By Pratik Parija
Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Coal India Ltd. may invest as much as $1.5 billion to acquire mines overseas to help overcome a shortage of the fuel as the country plans to almost double power generation capacity by 2012.
The state monopoly is seeking mines in Australia, South Africa, the U.S., Indonesia and Mozambique with an annual capacity of 10 million to 15 million metric tons, Chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya told reporters in New Delhi today.
Companies including NTPC Ltd., Reliance Power Ltd. and Tata Power Co. plan to boost generation to meet demand in the world’s second fastest-growing major economy. Coal India estimates a shortage of about 228 million tons a year by March 2012.
“Power companies will be the greatest beneficiaries,” said Girish Solanki, an analyst with Angel Broking Ltd. “The perennial coal shortage problem will be alleviated to an extent once they acquire a mine. Also, it is a good time to scout as coal prices have fallen.”
Coal India secured two blocks in Mozambique that may hold a combined 1 billion metric tons of thermal coal, along with some coking coal, Bhattacharyya said in an interview June 4.
Demand for coal is estimated to reach 731 million tons a year by March 2012, J. Goel, chief general manager of sales and marketing at Coal India, said on Feb. 24. The company wants local mining approvals sped up to boost domestic output.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pratik Parija in New Delhi atpparija@bloomberg.net.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aVY0aQPElyvQ
Meghalaya moves towards uranium mining
Supratim Dey / Guwahati August 27, 2009, 1:44 IST
Allows UCIL to undertake pre-project development works in West Khasi Hills region
The Meghalaya government has set the ball rolling for the controversial uranium mining issue in the state by allowing Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to undertake “pre-project developmental works” in uranium rich areas of West Khasi Hills.
But, the going does not appear to be smooth as the influential Khasi Students Union (KSU) has made its position clear that it will oppose any such move.
The state government has agreed to handover 422 hectares of land in uranium rich West Khasi Hills to UCIL on lease for 30 years to undertake the “pre-project developmental works”. Sources said that the decision was taken after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
“Pre-project developmental works” would mean construction of roads, schools, hospitals, and so on. But sources strictly said that allowing UCIL to undertake “pre-project developmental works” would in no way mean the government had acquiesced mining rights to UCIL.
Sources also said that the change in mood of the state government has come as it had been under “tremendous pressure” from the Centre for sometime to allow uranium mining.
Meghalaya is the third richest uranium state in the country after Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. The state accounts for 16 per cent of India's uranium reserves, with deposits estimated to be around 9,500 tonnes and 4,000 tonnes respectively at Domiasiat and Wakhyn, both in West Khasi Hills region.
But, the uranium mining proposal has been under attack from various tribal organisations, NGOs and the KSU.
“This is an unfortunate decision. Both the state government and UCIL are trying to mislead the people,” is what Samuel Jyrwa, president of KSU, told Business Standard.
“What do you mean by pre-project developmental work? Building roads, electricity are all that UCIL will require here to undertake mining in future. So, the government and UCIL are trying to mislead the people. In reality, these are all structural activities of UCIL to start mining,” Jirwa said.
Jyrwa said that KSU would chart a roadmap for opposing the government’s decision in a day or two.
UCIL had to wind up its mining operations in Khasi Hills soon after it started in early 1990s due to fierce and violent tribal protests. It had made a fresh application for uranium mining with the state government in 2001. The mining project, which was estimated at Rs 300 crore in 1990s, has now escalated to around Rs 825 crore.
UCIL had, in December 2007, got the environmental clearance from the union ministry of environment and forest for its proposed uranium mining and a processing plant at Kylleng-Pyndengshohiong in West Khasi Hills.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/meghalaya-moves-towards-uranium-mining/368209/
Posco to split mining, steel projects
BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar August 27, 2009, 0:02 IST
The South Korean steel major Posco, proposing to set up a 12 million tonne integrated steel plant near Paradeep in Orissa, today said, it will separate the captive mining from the steel project to expedite work on the mega steel plant.
It hoped to start ground leveling work for the project early next year. It, however, ruled out the possibility of leaving out Dhinkia, the epicenter of anti-Posco agitation in the project area, from the original site plan. It was speculated that the company may drop this village from the site map to circumvent opposition to its project in the area. “We will separate the mining project from the steel plant and the construction of the steel plant will be taken up first”, Dong-He-Lee, chairman, Posco India told the media persons here. Lee, who met the Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the state secretariat this evening, described the meeting as very constructive. There were some rumours to change Orissa project site but the company will go by its original plan.
He said, almost all the problems pertaining to the project has been resolved and the construction work will start soon. “ By the end of 2009 all the legal matters will be solved and early next year, the construction work like leveling of land will start”, he added. Sources said, the meeting lasted for more than 45 minutes and the state government assured to support the project. However, Patnaik insisted that the company should start the project in time and give close attention to the issues relating to the rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people.
Since the grant of prospecting license (PL) and subsequently mining lease (ML) will be delayed due to the litigations involved in the matter, the company sought raw material linkage for the project. In this context, the government agreed to provide raw material linkage through Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), as it has been providing to some MoU signed companies, to Posco as an interim measure.
Since the memorandum of understanding (MoU) states that the raw material linkage can be provided when the lease is under litigation, there will not be any problem in providing them raw material linkage, sources said. However, the chief minister is reported to have asked the company to focus on starting the construction works. During the discussion, the company officials stated that they hope to get the stage-II clearance for diversion of forest land within the site in the beginning of 2010.
It may be noted, the Rs 51,000 crore project, billed as the largest foreign direct investment proposal of the country, could not make substantial headway due to the resistance of the local people to the land acquisition.
Mining – International
Mongolia lifts bar to Rio mine
Barry FitzGerald
August 27, 2009
THE Mongolian Government might just have saved the neck of Rio Tinto's chief executive, Tom Albanese.
The Mongolians have given Rio and Mr Albanese reason to celebrate. After more than three years of delays, the development of the monster Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project - which Mr Albanese took Rio into in 2006 in a $US1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal with Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe - is finally back on track.
This week a special session of Mongolian Parliament approved legal amendments Rio and Ivanhoe were seeking before an investment agreement covering the planned $5 billion development of Oyu Tolgoi.
The most controversial amendment was a provision to cancel by 2011 the three-year-old, 68 per cent windfall profits tax on copper and gold production. That means the project will not be subject to the tax because first production is not planned until 2013.
Mr Albanese said the passing of the amendments was an ''important milestone in bringing on stream one of the finest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world''. The formal agreement was expected to be signed soon.
Before the breakthrough, Mr Albanese's tenure at Rio was under extreme pressure on a number of fronts. First there was Rio's ill-timed Alcan acquisition in 2007. Then his dogged refusal to engage with BHP Billiton on last year's generous takeover bid. And this year, Mr Albanese inflamed Rio's relationships with China by walking away from the Chinalco refinancing deal. But now he can claim to have positioned Rio to participate in what is shaping up as one of the world's biggest copper-gold mines. In 2006 Mr Albanese said Rio had to go where the big ore bodies were if it was to own the next generation of mines to feed the hungry dragon on Mongolia's doorstep, China.
Ivanhoe is the Canadian company headed by billionaire entrepreneur Robert Friedland that acquired the Oyu Tolgoi project in 1999 from BHP for $US11 million and a payment of $US37 million in 2003 for the 2 per cent royalty deal BHP had retained.
The Mongolian Government will own 34 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi and Ivanhoe the rest. Rio's involvement is through an arrangement to move to 46.65 per cent of Ivanhoe through placements and the exercise of options.
Production is expected to begin as early as 2013, with a ramp-up to full production to take five years. Average annual production over its lifetime is expected to be 450,000 tonnes of copper and 3300,000 ounces of gold.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
http://business.theage.com.au/business/mongolia-lifts-bar-to-rio-mine-20090826-eztk.html
Crandall Canyon payouts moving through Utah courts
By PAUL FOY (AP) – 11 hours ago
SALT LAKE CITY — Judges have begun approving payouts from a multimillion-dollar settlement stemming from the collapse two years ago of a Utah mine that entombed six miners and led to three rescuers' deaths.
Recently released court records show the claims also cover a miner who narrowly avoided a crushing death only to commit suicide months later. The money will support two children of Brian Keith Pritt, who was haunted by survivor's guilt and shot himself in the head, according to a family lawyer.
"He lost many of his close friends," Fred Silvester said Wednesday.
While judges have signed off on trust funds for children of miners and rescuers who died in the disaster at Crandall Canyon, many details remain confidential. Only the payouts for children under 18 require a judge's approval.
The settlement, announced May 12, was characterized as the largest in Utah mining history. Case files at 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City are packed with sealed envelopes holding confidential payout terms approved Aug. 13. Other settlements for minor children are pending in 7th District Court in Price, near Crandall Canyon.
The lawsuits were filed against Pepper Pike, Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp. and three of its subsidiaries or affiliates; engineering consultants Agapito Associates Inc. of Grand Junction, Colo.; mine co-owner Intermountain Power Agency and its partner in a coal-fired Utah power station, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
The bodies of six miners who died in the initial collapse Aug. 6, 2007, remain entombed inside the mountain. Ten days later, another cave-in killed three rescuers and left six others grievously injured. The multimillion-dollar settlement covers all of them or their families, plus Pritt.
Pritt was driving into the mine to rejoin his crew after finishing some outside errands when he was stopped by the collapse, according to an investigative report released a year later by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
In blinding dust and wearing a respirator, he dug at rubble in a futile effort to reach the trapped miners a half-mile away. He beat on a water pipe, but got no response.
"He was severely affected emotionally by the whole thing," Silvester said. "The company referred him for psychological treatment to deal with the stress. The next April, he put a rifle inside his mouth, ended it all and left two kids."
Silvester said doctors hired by the mine operator concluded the suicide was directly related to mine disaster.
Silvester also represents fire boss Lester Day, who was permanently disabled along with Frank Markosek, a MSHA inspector, in the rescue effort.
Day "was found underneath a blown-out rib" — miners call tunnel walls ribs — according to the MSHA investigation. Buried in coal, he yelled to a co-worker looking for him, "You're standing on me!"
Day and Markosek also suffered brain injuries from flying chunks of coal, Silvester said
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9Hra4Cl9lXPFc7Puf4PxxU7GtHgD9AARRBO0
Govt plays down plans to mine DOC land
Published: 2:55PM Thursday August 27, 2009
Source: ONE News/Newstalk ZB
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Some of New Zealand's most precious and protected land may be opened up for mining.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee is reported to be looking to remove parts of the law that protect Department of Conservation parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries.
But he says while consideration might be given to low value DOC land being set aside for mining, high value conservation land will not be touched.
Brownlee says they are holding a stocktake of whether any DOC land, worth an estimated $140 billion, could be used.
Share your opinion on this on our message board below.
"There is a substantial amount of wealth potentially in the ground in some parts of the conservation estate. What we have further said is there are some parts of the conservation estate that do not have high conservation values, where the two meet maybe we should be taking the opportunity that's there," says Brownlee.
The admission has stunned conservation groups and Forest and Bird says it can't see any benefits to opening up protected land to mining with only 13% of the country's land currently set aside for the public.
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"The conservation estate is in fact very important for New Zealand's economy," spokesman Kevin Hackwell says. "It's the basis of our $21 billion tourist industry and we shouldn't be threatening it."
Hackwell says Forest and Bird has been calling for the current restraints on mining to be strengthened, not weakened. And he says the government will have a fight on its hands if it decides to go down this path.
Hackwell says any money raised through a potential mine would not outweigh the income the land currently generates.
But Brownlee says the government needs to balance both economic and environmental values.
"Where conservation values win that's great, but if there is an economic value that would be good too," he says.
Mining on Department of Conservation land already happens at Pike River coal mine, near Greymouth. Roads weave through treasured forest but the mining is done underground.
The minister says we need to tap into more of these resources.
"The last government spent nine years explaining the gap between Australia and New Zealand as being due to their mineral wealth. What this country needs to know is that this country is similarly endowed," says Brownlee.
But Labour's conservation spokesman David Parker says he is stunned at the suggestion that national parks could be opened up to the mining of coal.
"He's not even talking about some rare mineral or diamonds or anything really high value like that, he's talking about dirty old lignite," says Parker.
"Coal and lignite are the cause of climate change. Each tonne of coal or lignite releases up to two tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere."
Parker says allowing increased mining in the DOC estate or in national parks is lunacy. And he questions why the National Party didn't tell New Zealand prior to the election that it was their intention to allow mining in New Zealand's conservation areas.
"This is a government that does not have a reputation for listening, but this issue is simply too important for them to bulldoze through without taking the proper time and care," says Parker.
The Green Party is also worried about the plans to investigate mineral resources in DOC land. Co-leader Metiria Turei is sceptical and says marine conservation alone is worth $100 million to New Zealand.
Brownlee won't say which areas are under consideration and he is stressing that it's just an idea he is floating - an idea conservation groups would like to sink.
How do you feel about the prospect of our conservation land being opened up for mining? Share your opinion on our message board below
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/govt-plays-down-plans-mine-doc-land-2951272
One dead after riot in Guinea mining town
Thursday, 27 Aug 2009
Reuters reported that Riots over water and electricity shortages in the Guinea mining town of Kamsar on August 24th 2009 left at least one person dead and 2 seriously wounded.
Kamsar is the centre of the bauxite industry in Guinea, the world's top exporter of the aluminium ore.
Witnesses said that shots were fired when soldiers were called in to quell a disturbance by local youths.
A doctor at Kamsar hospital said that "We were handed the body of a young man. We are checking how he died."
A senior police official, who also requested anonymity, confirmed a youth had died and said that at least 2 others were seriously wounded.
Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, 51% owned by a venture between Alcoa and Rio Tinto Alcan, produced a record 13.7 million tonnes of bauxite in 2008.
There have been local tensions related to CBG's presence. Residents have in the past sought to block access to the CBG plant by putting obstacles on the railway track leading to it.
(Sourced from Reuters)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/08/27/MTA4ODkz/One_dead_after_riot_in_Guinea_mining_town.html
Farmers get mining exploration legal win
Posted 10 hours 14 minutes ago
Updated 10 hours 15 minutes ago
• Map: Gunnedah 2380
In the first mining case heard by the Land and Environment Court since the New South Wales Government abolished the Mining Wardens Court, there has been some good news for farmers.
In a case involving the 48,000 hectare station near White Cliffs, the court has ruled that exploration licence conditions must now become part of the property access agreements that mining companies give to landholders.
Under the old regime, if miners breached these conditions farmers had no legal comeback, other than to go to the Minister for Mineral Resources, or the Department of Primary Industries, and ask them to investigate.
Gunnedah-based lawyer Peter Long says now any miners who flout the terms of their exploration licence could end up in the Land and Environment Court.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/27/2668362.htm
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Jhabua tribals denied land under Forest Rights Act
Mahim Pratap Singh
Only 120 claims were approved in the district
— Photo: Mahim Pratap Singh
Some of the affected farmers of Jhabua forest.
JHABUA (MADHYA PRADESH): In recent local media reports and a half-page advertisement carried in a national daily, the Madhya Pradesh government has claimed to be number one in implementing the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
Evidences from the field fly in the face of this claim, suggesting that the State stands first in rejecting claims made by forest-dwellers.
Jhabua, where 86 per cent of the population is tribal, is also the district with the highest density of tribal population. As many as 1,645 individual claims and one community claim were received from the district, and of these, only 120 were approved by the district-level committee as on July 24 this year.
In Morjhariya and other hamlets of Mohankot village in Petlawad block, the committee rejected 228 claims without consulting the sub-divisional level committee. At Rasodhi in Rama block, all 380 claims were rejected. “I recommended that the claims of the Morjhariya tribals be approved, but the SDM and CEO didn’t listen,” says Kesar Bai, the only female member of the sub-divisional level committee. Moreover, the rejection letters issued to the claimants cited no reason, a serious violation of the rules and procedures of the Act.
The locals say the Revenue Department had acquired the land of the Bhil tribals for digging an irrigation pond, paying them a meagre compensation of Rs.300-400 apiece. With their land taken away, the tribals started working in forestland 25 years ago. According to the Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006, all individuals and communities cultivating forestland on or before December 12, 2005, could claim the rights for the land.
Claimants “threatened”
Barely a month after claims were filed, Forest and Revenue Department officials, accompanied by 250 policemen, descended on the area and threatened the claimants. “They pushed us around, took away our beds and destroyed our ‘taprees’ (sheds),” says Viru Singh, one of the claimants.
“They said, ‘tum log chale jao yahaan se, ye tumhaari zameen nahi hai, na kabhi hogi (leave this land, it does not belong to you and it never will)’,” he said.
Thereafter the Forest Department established in the area a vigilance chowki with a guard. A case of encroachment on forestland and collective nuisance was filed against the claimants. Those booked included women and children and a disabled woman. In another case, 39 people were booked for destroying grazing fields.
The “protected forestland,” which the officials claim has been encroached upon by claimants, does not have a single plantation, except rows of Jatropha. The government, however, vouches for the speedy implementation of the Act. “The Act is being implemented in good spirit across the State, and Madhya Pradesh has been very fast in the implementation of the Act,” says Jaideep Govind, Commissioner, Tribal Welfare Department.
Asked why so many claims from a tribal-dominated district were rejected, he said: “According to our analysis, there were a lot of spurious claims, and most of them could not provide the required documents for certification.”
The Morjhariya tribals, however, say they submitted all necessary documents, including the copy of an appeal sent to the Chief Minister in 1999, which proves that they were cultivating the land before 2005.
Of the 10 districts mentioned in the advertisement, only Shahdol and, to some extent, Rewa have a sizable tribal population. There is also a mismatch between data provided by the government and that laid out in the advertisement: in the Vidhan Sabha, the government put the number of approved claims for Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior at 39,274, 44,951 and 42,078, but the advertisement put these at 287, 1,010 and 163.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082761192200.htm
No deviations, please
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Ashish Kothari,
August 26, 2009
First Published: 20:09 IST(26/8/2009)
Last Updated: 20:46 IST(26/8/2009)
Print
In a potentially revolutionary move, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in July “invited the attention” of states to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, and directed that its provisions be adhered to while considering any diversion of forest lands for development projects. It has also asked for multiple documents as evidence that this has been done, when any state applies for clearance of forest land under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 (FCA).
If applied properly, this step could put a check to the ecological and social damage that is caused by projects that use forest land. Such projects have increased in the last few years, and the FCA has just become a rubber stamp process with the MoEF unwilling or unable to resist pressure from fellow ministries, states and corporations to give up huge areas of forests.
A number of these projects have been opposed by forest-dependent communities and environmentalists. But for the most part these objections were brushed aside, even by the courts. A classic example of this is the mining project planned for the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa, where the multinational Vedanta has bulldozed local adivasi protests about the sacrilege of a sacred site, and ecologists’ objections about it being high in biodiversity value. Neither Orissa nor the MoEF, and not even the Supreme Court was willing to listen to these arguments and gave permission to Vedanta.
The MoEF circular implicitly recognises that many such clearances have been illegal ever since the Forest Rights Act (FRA) came into place. Since 2006 over 3,000 projects have been cleared, on over 2 lakh hectares of forest land. In a bid to correct this anomaly, the MoEF has asked that states “initiate and complete” the process under the FRA, and present the following kinds of evidence while submitting proposals under the FCA:
A state government certificate that the process for identification and settlement of rights under the FRA has been carried out for the entire forest area proposed for diversion, with a record of all consultations and meetings held.
A state government letter certifying that proposals for such diversion (with full details of the project and its implications, in vernacular/local languages) have been placed before each gram sabha concerned of forest-dwellers, who are eligible under the FRA.
A letter from each of the gram sabhas concerned, indicating that all formalities/processes under the FRA have been carried out, and that they have given their consent to the proposed diversion and the compensatory and ameliorative measures if any. The circular lays stress on the need to specially protect “primitive tribal groups and pre-agricultural communities”, whose habitat rights are specifically provided for in the FRA.
Additionally, the FRA also provides for communities to avail of small-scale development facilities, and the state is required to provide evidence that any diversion of forest land needed for this has been discussed with the gram sabha, which has consented to or rejected such diversion.
If this circular had been in force since the FRA was operationalised, it is more than likely that the Vedanta clearance would never have been given, since the gram sabhas would have refused consent. The same would be true for other projects.
Too often have circulars like this been ignored in the past, and this one too could gather dust. But the current Minister of State for Environment and Forests appears to be serious about not allowing blatant violations of procedures, and it is to be hoped that he will set a good precedence by strictly applying this circular.
Ashish Kothari is Member, Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group
http://www.hindustantimes.com/No-deviations-please/H1-Article1-447275.aspx
Lack of awareness affects NREGS implementation, says minister
2009-08-26 22:30:00
'Lack of awareness, delayed payment of wages and non-maintenance of proper records' were affecting the implementation of the government's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), Rural Development Minister C.P. Joshi said Wednesday.
Joshi was speaking at an all-party meeting convened by the ministry of rural development held on the NREG scheme.
The minister said that 'lack of awareness, inability of workers to submit written applications, delayed payment of wages, non-maintenance of proper records such as muster rolls, and quality of assets created under the scheme' were the problem areas of the NREGA.
Joshi said the priority of the ministry was on the convergence of NREGS with other schemes.
He also told the meeting that the government has placed adequate funds with the states to tide over the crisis caused by the drought in 250 districts of the country.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad demanded setting up of vigilance and monitoring committees to ensure accountability.
Rajendra Agarwal of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) said the scheme 'was not reaching the poor to the extent required, and the government should go in for afforestation in a big way under the scheme in view of the global warming'.
Communist Party of India-Marxist representative Ram Chander Dome suggested that the government should make spot payments by banks in areas, which do not have bank branches.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=ji0w4bijgeh&title=Lack_of_awareness_affects_NREGS_implementation_says_minister
Drought, rain trigger migration
B Satyanarayana Reddy
First Published : 27 Aug 2009 03:43:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 27 Aug 2009 10:57:58 AM IST
KHAMMAM: The drought coupled with untimely rain over the last few days has triggered off employment-related migration.
With no rain earlier on in the agricultural season and the absence of water in the NSP canal, paddy transplantation has not been undertaken in thousands of hectares in the district which meant that thousands of daily labourers have been robbed of their employment in the agriculture season.
This meant that the Government has to chip in to create employment for all those unemployed as a direct effect of the prevailing drought in the district through NREGS.
While NREGS works were taken up in some parts of the district, some mandals were lax in providing the same to the labourers, who found the going tough.
Such people had no other go but travel to Krishna district, which had industries which would provide them employment.
Meanwhile, rain has come back to the district but turned out to be not entirely fruitful as many farmers could not take up transplantation activity.
On the other hand, it has also disturbed the ongoing NREGS works in the Bonakal, Madhira, Motamarri, Errupalem and surrounding mandals.
This started triggering off migration among the labourers.
Most such people can be seen travelling towards Kondapalli, Ibrahimpatnam and the Vijayawada regions which are host to a few large and medium industries, giving them the much-needed employment.
Meanwhile, areas surrounding the Rayanapadu area also witnessed paddy tarnsplantation due to the recent rains which again meant want of labour.
Cumulatively, opportunities in Krishna district have begun to trigger off migration.
While the Chief Minister has being reiterating time and again that employment will be provided under NREGS, laxity among the officials in some mandals besides nature, in some others, has hit hard on the daily labour. In fact, quite a few number of farmers in Wyra mandal have turned to daily labour to feed their families in the absence of government-sponsored work.
Proof of this is the fact that more than 500 farmers, who have now turned daily labourers, of the Rapavaram village recently staged a rasta roko and a dharna in front of the MRO office in Wyra, demanding that they be given work under the NREGS.
‘’We are unable to feed our children, which is why we are travelling to Kondapalli where we work in a power plant as daily wage labourers. If we are given work under the NREGS, why will we want to waste the ticket fares and earn less?, said Nagamma and Nagayya, husband and wife, of the Nagulavanka village of the Bonakal mandal.
bsatyanarayanareddy@epmltd.com
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Drought,+rain+trigger+migration&artid=nVZP22h9TbY=&SectionID=e7uPP4|pSiw=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=EH8HilNJ2uYAot5nzqumeA==&SEO=
Amendment to article 243D of the Constitution of India for enhancing reservation for women in Panchayats to 50 %
________________________________________
14:5 IST
The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal for moving a Constitutional Amendment Bill for enhancing reservation for women in Panchayats at all tiers from one third to at least 50%. This provision will apply to the total number of seats filled by direct election, offices of chairpersons and seats and offices of chairpersons reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Background :
The President of India in her address to the Parliament on 4.6.09 has mentioned the intent to provide fifty per cent reservation for women in Panchayats as women suffer multiple deprivations of class, caste and gender and enhancing reservation in Panchayats will lead to more women entering the public sphere.
According to article 243G of the Constitution, State legislatures may endow Panchayats with such powers and authoritiy as may be necessary (i) to enable them to function as units of local self-governemnt (LSG), and (ii) to prepare and implement plans / or schemes for economic development and social justice including those in relation to matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. Panchayats as such have a vital role to play in the welfare and development of the weaker sections of the society, viz., women, SCs and STs. Greater representation of these sections would enhance their voice in these bodies and promote inclusive governance which is critical to the inclusive growth.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj will move a Bill for amendment to Article 243D of the Constitution at the earliest after approval of the Cabinet. The proposed amendment will increase reservation for women in (i) the total number of seats to be filled by direct election, (ii) offices of chairpersons and (iii) in seats and offices of the chairpersons reserved for SCs and STs, to 50% in all tiers of Panchayats.
Enhancement of reservation for women in Panchyats will facilitate more women entering the public sphere and thereby lead to further empowerment of women and also make Panchayats more inclusive institutions, thereby improving governance and public service delivery.
There is no financial implication in operationalization of the proposal.
At present, out of the total elected representatives of Panchayats numbering approximately 28.18 lakhs, 36.87% are women. With the proposed Constitutional Amendment, the number of elected women representatives is expected to rise to more than 14 lakhs. Having more elected women representatives would benefit the entire population of the States and UTs where Panchayati Raj is in existence.
All States/UTs and parts thereof to which Part IX of the Constitution applies would be covered (Part IX does not apply to Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, tribal areas of Assam, Tripura and hill areas of Manipur)
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=52176
50 per cent water saved in model farm
Staff Reporter
TIRUCHI: The Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute has readied a model farm on an area of 1.25 acres, featuring modern irrigational technologies to demonstrate water savings of up to 50 per cent.
It was inaugurated recently by Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University P. Murugesa Boopathi.
Featuring advanced head control unit, sprinkler irrigation, and drip irrigation, the technology enhances crop yield to 100 per cent, according to S. Somasundaram, Associate Professor, Agronomy.
The head control is equipped with valves, filters and fertigation devices. Primary filters suitable for both well water and bore well water, to remove fine grit, organic materials and sand, have been fixed in the head control system. Next to the primary filters are the devices for fertigation (applying fertilizers through irrigation).
Secondary filters such as screen and disc filter were attached for final filtration of the irrigation water, the Dean G. Kathiresan explained.
All types of sprinkler irrigation systems like impact sprinkler, raingun sprinkler, micro-sprinkler, and micro-jet spitters with wetting diameters ranging from three metres to 20 metres have been designed in a half-acre area. The test crops grown under the sprinkler irrigation area include groundnut, small onion, bhendi, radish, cluster beans, and vegetable cowpea. Different modules of drip irrigation like surface online and inline drip for maize, bhendi and clusterbeans; subsurface drip for banana and papaya; and overhead drip for grapes were maintained on half an acre, the Dean said.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082756290100.htm
Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam
Landslip threat haunts tribals as rain lashes Agency
Santosh Patnaik
Model colonies, sanctioned after Kodipunjulavalasa tragedy, remain unfinished
Photo: K.R. Deepak
ON the edge: Suva near Araku is one among the 72 hamlets identified as being vulnerable to landslip. —
VISAKHAPATNAM: The threat of landslips is haunting tribals living on the hills in 72 hamlets, as heavy rains are wreaking havoc in the Agency areas of the district.
With memories of Kodipunjulavalasa landslip near Araku still fresh in their memory, the Kodhu, the Bhagata and other primitive tribal groups are leading a life of uncertainty.
Seventeen tribals were crushed to death when boulders, accompanied by rainwater and slush, rolled down the hill in August 2006.
After the tragedy, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy air dashed to the Agency and ordered identification of vulnerable hamlets for rehabilitation of tribals in safe zones. Some 36 colonies were sanctioned but work on the houses remained unfinished for the past several months.
Nearly 80 families from Kodipunjulavalasa were rehabilitated in a nearby area on the hill slope. This was not possible in other model colonies, as the authorities insist the beneficiaries pay a margin money of Rs.28,000.
“The tribals are willing to go to safe areas but the problem is that they are not in a position to pay the margin money. In the case of Kodipunjulavalasa, the unit cost of each house was much more than the sanctioned amount of Rs.1 lakh as they got sponsorships from various organisations,” points out Killo Surendra, ZPTC member from Araku.
Construction cost
The landslip-prone hamlets are spread over remote areas in Dumbriguda, Anantagiri, Araku, Munchingput, Hukumpeta and G. Madugula mandals.
Now, the situation is that construction only up to basement could be made at the so-called model colonies at Rasa, Painampadu, Nimmagedda, Vantamuru and Kindamguda. The construction cost is more compared to roadside areas as transporting sand and other material is quite expensive due to rough terrain.
Literacy among PTG women is abysmally low and said to be the lowest in the country.
“As a special case, per-unit cost should be enhanced in these areas and construction expedited,” says B. David, secretary, PTG Welfare Association.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082759940500.htm
Continuation of Remote Village Electrification Programme
________________________________________
15:6 IST
CCI Decision
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure today approved the continuation of Remote Village Electrification Programme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy during the remaining period of the 11th Plan.
The Programme aims to provide renewable energy based lighting/basic electricity facilities with 90% Central Financial Assistance to those unelectrified villages and hamlets which are not going to be covered under RGGVY due to infeasibility of grid extension.
The Ministry has so far provided support for coverage of around 9300 villages and hamlets in 25 States.
A variety of renewable energy technologies are being deployed for electrification of remote villages. These include small hydro, wind, biomass and solar energy based options. The decision to use a particular technology is taken by the State implementing agencies after examination of the technical feasibility and resource availability. The most commonly used option by the States so far has been solar photovoltaic homelighting systems with 2 lamps for each household.
The Programme will be implemented by the State governments through their notified implementing agencies. The Programme is expected to cover 10,000 remote, unelectrified villages and hamlets and benefit around 1 million households.
Availability of lighting/basic electricity to the remote villages and hamlets is expected to lead to improvement in the quality of life of the people, including better health and education.
The total outlay for the programme has been estimated at Rs.867.89 crores during the current Plan period.
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=52180
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