The Centre is planning to give a 26 per cent share in mining profits to tribal people and to set up a regulatory body to check illegal mining, Union Minister of Mines B.K. Handique informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The draft of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill — prepared on the basis of the policy directions set forth in the 2008 National Mineral Policy and the recommendations...
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The right side of the food security debate by YK Alagh
There is an interesting debate on food security and we should get the Planning Commission’s perspective on this. But as I write this, the Planning Commission Web site still does not have the mid-term appraisal, so Yojana Bhavan must still be polishing it. This column has, over time, taken the position that the food security programme is really important and a country growing as fast as India simply cannot ignore...
More »FICCI opposes mining bill, debunks tribal compensation scheme
Criticising the government’s Mining Bill, FICCI has said that the proposed legislation would adversely impact investments in the sector. It also termed the government’s scheme to provide shareholdings to tribals in mining projects as flawed. In a recent letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra said that the proposed act will “adversely affect the industry”. “...the latest draft of the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act 2010 proposes...
More »Justice and the Adivasi by Ramachandra Guha
In the summer of 2006, I travelled with a group of scholars and writers through the district of Dantewada, then (as now) the epicentre of the conflict between the Indian State and Maoist rebels. Writing about my experiences in a four-part series published in The Telegraph, I predicted that the conflict would intensify, because the Maoists would not give up their commitment to armed struggle, while the government would not...
More »Why you must read this censored chapter by Raman Kirpal
A RESEARCHER WORKING on the State of Panchayats Report (SOPR) 2008-09 met Mahangu Madiya in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, a dangerous place for gathering data. Madiya’s story was startling. In January, he was given Rs 55 lakh compensation for his land, but the amount is sitting in his bank account. He does not even own a mobile phone. “I am concerned with farming. My land is important to me. What will I...
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