“We have no idea of what resources we have or if the ones we do have are mature enough to sustain such large-scale exploitation,” says Shantanu Mohapatra, former director of mines in Orissa. Panda agrees. “So far, we have looked only for the most obvious minerals such as iron ore and bauxite in the most obvious places. Places such as Kandhamal have not been investigated closely.”
When winds changed and mining became lucrative, companies seized the opportunity and forced the state to play catch-up.
The government’s inability to reshape its mining policy has prevented it from earning revenue and also hampered jobs from being created in Kandhamal, where both Kandhas and Panos could have benefited from the rising global demand for the minerals lying beneath their lands.
Pradip Kumar Amat, the state minister of mines, did not return calls for comment and ignored messages sent to his mobile phone.
Observers say that if the government had acted in time and channelled investment here, maybe the conflict, which is essentially an economic battle between two of India’s most deprived groups, would have been avoided.
They say a long-term economic plan is essential to stop the violence in Kandhamal. That won’t start, residents say, until the government allows them to mine the benefits of their mineral wealth.
Tags - Find More Articles On: