Bleeding hillsides

Unlike the underground iron or manganese mines existing elsewhere in the country, Goan mines are open cast. Ore is mined from open pits bored on the hills of the Western Ghats. Since the mines are situated in villages, each mine is restricted to an area of 100 ha. Explains S. Sridhar, secretary, Goa Mine Owners’ Association,“We have to dig the pits, sift the material excavated for ore and dump the waste in the same area. In addition mine workers also live and work in the same area.”

This claim is, however, contested by non-government organisations and activists in the state. According to the Goa Foundation, a total of 80 million tonnes of material was removed to produce 13 million tonnes of ore in 1991. Ore output today amounts to a similar quantity. The excavated material, according to Claude Alvares, general secretary of the organisation, is just dumped haphazardly.“This material contains traces of unextracted metal which leaches into the groundwater, polluting it forever,” says Alvares.

Sridhar, however, defends dumping on the grounds that it is required by law. Once the entire ore produced by a mine is removed, the excavated material must be used to refill the mine. As Sridhar himself points out, this is a difficult task to fulfill. “Some of the mines which were opened in the 1980s are still in operation and produce export quality ore even today,” he says. In some cases, rather than mine all available ore at a stretch, mine-owners prefer to wait for new technology or improved market conditions before resuming work. The TERI study notes that only about 710 hectares of mine land have been replanned so far.

Incidentally, mining concessions issued by the erstwhile Portuguese rulers earlier this century, and still effective today, covers an area of 30,000 ha or 8.2 per cent of Goa’s total land area. However, only 8,000 ha of land have been opened up by miningcompanies. This may increase if the global demand for Goan ore rises. According to TERI, Goa’s mining belt constitutes an area of 700 sq km.

The TERI report also points out that water pollution occurs in the area when partially treated or untreated water is released into the rivers. In addition run-offs from dumps result in the siltation of the rivers. The report also recommends that the government rehabilitate old waste dumps and abandoned mines which had shut shop before eco-awareness struck roots in the state.

The TERI report also throws much light on the growing opposition to the mining sector in Goa. Mining, which played a key role in the state’s economic progress before the advent of large-scale tourism, is seeing its share in the Goa’s gross domestic product drop over the years. In 1970-71, it had accounted for 11.7 per cent of the state’s domestic product. By 1990-91, its share was down to 4.7 per cent. There was, however, a small rise in 1994-95, when it touched 7.7 per cent.

With Goa turnedinto an high-wage island, mines are resorting to mechanisation in a big way. According to local activists, the workforce in the mines have declined over the last 20 years from nearly 30,000 persons to just 8,000. Says Sridhar, “The mines are today the best paymasters. A headloader who spends 15 days a month and remains off duty for the rest of the days takes home Rs 5,000 per month.”

This has only fuelled resentment among those who don’t have jobs in mines. According to TERI report, 65 per cent of the people living in the mining belt believe that the mines have not provided enough amenities to the local communities. In some areas the feeling is shared by 90 per cent of the people. But a significant 31 per cent are satisfied with the amenities provided by the mines.

Often, the dissatisfaction of the villagers results in intimidation and disruption of iron ore transport. “Sometimes the villagers resort to strong-arm tactics and refuse to let our trucks pass till we promise them jobs,” says Sridhar. Themine-owners, in fact, have collectively offered to buy land and build a private road to transport ore to the barges.

But a pro-mining lobby is already coming up in the surrounding villages to counter the opponents. Ever since mining companies farmed out transportation of ore to private truck owners, several new entrepreneurs have come to depend on the industry. The TERI report too points to several ancillary industries catering to truckers that have come up in the villages near the mines.

The apex body of the mine-owners, however, insists that it is committed to the complete protection of the environment and surrounding communities. “Some of the water the mines pump up for their use is reserved for the use of the villages nearby,” says Sridhar. He also adds that most of the roads on the mining belt were constructed by the mine concerns for the common use of every one.

Goan iron ore exports, which account for 50 per cent of India’s iron ore exports, cannot be used by steel mills in the country. Butthere is a demand for this ore from countries like Japan, which have the technology to use it. So the faster the mines here clean up their act, the better — not just for the state but the country.