Guns make a difference anywhere in the world. Doe it mean every civilian must have a gun to make a point?
________________________________ From: Chan Mahanta <cmaha...@gmail.com> To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world <assam@assamnet.org> Sent: Mon, August 16, 2010 9:50:19 PM Subject: [Assam] From ToI/Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel So it proves one thing LOUD and CLEAR: That unless you take up arms to defend your rights in India, nothing happens. Desi demokrasy is all but impotent to guarantee the rights of people. But when they take up arms, Dilli does notice, don't they? Except that some of our kharkhowa ex-pats still can't fathom it. I wonder WHY these were NOT illegal so far? Naxalism does make the difference for the people after all. cm Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel Read more: Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel - India Business - Business - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Vedanta-mines-illegal-must-be-shut-down-Green-panel/articleshow/6321872.cms#ixzz0wpMAIbWX NEW DELHI: Mining giant Vedanta consistently violated several laws in bauxite mining at Niyamgiri, encroached upon government land, got clearances on the basis of false information and illegally built its aluminium refinery at Lanjigarh, Orissa. As the company engaged in these violations, the Orissa government colluded with it and the Centre turned a blind eye. , These are some of the findings of the four-member N C Saxena committee, which on Monday recommended that the company not be allowed to mine in the hills that are the abode of the Dongaria Kondh and Kutia Kondh tribes in Orissa. , The no-holds-barred indictment of the state and private sector in the $1.7billion project brings out the short shrift given to concerns about tribal rights and environmental protection. It is significant also because it underlines the changed sensibilities of the government towards the issues against the backdrop of Left-wing extremism and why Naxalites are finding it easy to influence alienated tribal belts. , The stern report of the environment and forests ministry panel signalled that tribal rights and environmental isssues have finally muscled their way onto the governance agenda, forcing the authorities to take action against corporates who may have shown disregard for rules. The Saxena committee report, which could lead to shutting down of the Vedanta smelters in Orissa, comes after the MoEF moved to stop or stall several high-profile, heavy-investment projects, including the Posco Integrated Steel project in Orissa, which, at Rs 56, 000 crore is the single-largest foreign direct investment in India, the Jindal thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh (Rs 10,000 crore), hydroelectric projects on Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand and the Navi Mumbai airport in Maharashtra (Rs 7,972 crore). , The panel was set up by the ministry of environment and forests to investigate if the state government and the aluminium giant had complied with the Forest Rights Act and Forest Conservation Act while mining for bauxite. , The report reveals exhaustive evidence to nail the complicity of the state government in permitting Vedanta to flagrantly violate the laws. , But the committee, even as it recommended that the mining project be disallowed, stopped short of asking for prosecution of the officials involved in what seems to be a blatant fraud that went unchecked for years. , "The question of whom to prosecute is secondary. First, we have to consider the clearance," said Union minister for enviroment and forests Jairam Ramesh. Asked if the violations could be set right now, the minister said, "Without prejudice to the existing case, it would be a tragedy that one violates laws and still has a window of opportunity to just pay a penalty and get away with it later." , The report will now be reviewed by the statutory Forest Advisory Committee, which will then give its recommendations to the ministry to take a final call on the forest clearance. , The report says, "This committee is of the firm view that allowing mining in the proposed mining lease area by depriving two primitive tribal groups of their rights over the proposed mining area in order to benefit a private company would shake the faith of tribal people in the laws of the land which may have serious consequences for the security and well-being of the entire country." , The report records how the state government falsified documents and concealed information from the central government to facilitate the aluminium refinery in mining bauxite while the company encroached upon government and tribal lands with impunity. , The aluminium czar Anil Aggarwal's company has illegally -- despite legal notices from the Orissa State Pollution Control Board -- begun building a refinery to produce 6 million tonnes of aluminium per annum instead of the 1 million tonnes per annum plant that it had got the green clearance for. , The committee -- that included S Parasuraman, director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Promode Kant, retired forest official; and Amita Baviskar, professor at the Institute of Economic Growth -- pointed out how right from the beginning, the firm had furnished falsified reports to the Centre to seek clearance, and how the state officials ranging from the highest bureaucrats to the collectors of two districts either refused to enforce existing laws or simply colluded with the company to deny the tribals right over their lands., Read more: Vedanta mines illegal, must be shut down: Green panel - India Business - Business - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Vedanta-mines-illegal-must-be-shut-down-Green-panel/articleshow/6321872.cms#ixzz0wpLtMGod _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
