Samata, mm&P delegation raises mining affected people's issues before MPs, minister

By A Representative
A delegation of civil rights organisations Samata and Mines, Minerals and People (mm&P), which met MPs of various political parties on August 8 to 9, has demanded that false cases against Jharkhand's 20 Patthargadi movement activists, fighting for their Constitutional rights, should be withdrawn, and the issue should be raised in Parliament.
The delegation was led by Ravi Rebbapragada, chairperson, and Ashok Shrimali, secretary-general mm&P, and consisted of mm&P executive committee members from Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka. It met Mansukhbhai Vasava, Prabhubhai Vasava, Arjunlal Meena, Sanjay Singh, Syed Naseer Hussain, Naranbhai Rathwa, L Hanumanthaiiah, Madhusudan Mistry, Rajamani Patel, Narendra K. Sawaikar and K Raju.
It also met Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, minister of state, coal and mines, to discuss about legal hurdles that may be faced if the Central government amends the MMDR Act, 1957, and the Abolition of Mining Concessions and Declaration of Mining Leases Act 1987.
Highlighting the constitutional rights of the adivasi community ignored in the process of meeting 'national development goals' in the the areas affected by mining, the delegation proposed the concept of cooperative mining across as per the Samata Judgement,1997 to ensure sustainable mining, reduce environmental degradation and generate employment to the local communities.
A memorandum submitted to the MPs and the minister said, approximately 1 lakh illegal mining cases are reported across the Country with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh topping the list. It added, total collection across the country for District Mining Fund is 18,467 Rs crore, yet Rs 3,552.39 crore has been spent in the mining affected areas.
Other issues raised in the memorandum included poor implementation of PESA Act, forced land acquisition, poor safety of mine workers, and environmental degradation.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Search This Blog