Indore: People from all walks of life stood with placards forming a human chain in front of Divisional Commissioner’s office protesting against mining project resulting in clearing of 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest
People from all walks of life stood with placards forming a human chain in front of Divisional Commissioner’s office protesting against mining project resulting in clearing of 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest
Men and women from different walks of life in Indore stood together as environment activist to protest against the chopping off of Buxwaha forest on Monday.
Expressing their agitation on possibility of cutting off 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest, members of political parties, trade unions and social organisations stood alongside on Regal Square in the evening with placards.
Further, under the leadership of former advocate general Padma Shri Anand Mohan Mathur, a human chain was formed in front of the Divisional Commissioner's office of Indore in support of the demand of save the environment, save the forest.
In the human chain, members from Communist Party of India, Marxist party, Socialist Party, Aam Aadmi Party, SUCI, Loktantrik Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, United Trade Union Council, City Trade Union Council, JAYS , Narmada Bachao Andolan, Janata Shramik Sangh, Working Women's Organization, Bharatiya Jana Natya Sangh (IPTA), Progressive Writers Association, People's Writers Association, Federation of Indian Women, Phoolan Army, Bhagat Singh Diwane Brigade, Lohia Vichar Manch, Ambedkar Vichar Manch and various other social organisations raised their voice on the issue.
The activists of the social organizations participated and demanded not to sign the contract of 300 hectares of forest land being given on 50-year lease for diamond mining to Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited..
Ramswaroop Mantri, Piyush Joshi, Shyam Sundar Yadav, Arvind Porwal, Ajay Lagoo, Sarika Srivastava, Kailash Limbodia, and others discussed the issue and shared various details about the project. Following are the highlights of the issue on which MP has been witnessing protests for the last two months now.
What is the issue concerning?
The issue concerns 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest that is proposed to be allotted to the Bunder diamond block. The forest clearance report states that a total of 2,15,875 trees would have to be cut down in this area for the proposed mine.
The bid for the block, which is estimated to have 34 million carats of rough diamonds, was won by Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited in December 2019. But there are several intricacies related to this controversial project that need to be examined.
Livelihood of Tribals under Threat
Buxwaha forest lies in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, about 260 km northeast of the state capital of Bhopal. Mantri, a volunteer with ‘Buxwaha Jungle Bachao Andolan’, said, "The region is still considered backward.
Around 7,000 villagers of the 17 tribal villages in the territory depend solely on forest products, like Mahua, Tendu leaves, Chironji, Aamla, etc, for their livelihood. The proposed mine would snatch away their income sources. For example, Mahua earns a family about Rs 40,000 to Rs 1,00,000 in a season."
What is at Stake?
According to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), among India's four diamond-reserve states – Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha – Madhya Pradesh alone accounts for about 90.18 percent. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is actively pursuing prospective diamond blocks in these states.
Expressing their agitation on possibility of cutting off 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest, members of political parties, trade unions and social organisations stood alongside on Regal Square in the evening with placards.
Further, under the leadership of former advocate general Padma Shri Anand Mohan Mathur, a human chain was formed in front of the Divisional Commissioner's office of Indore in support of the demand of save the environment, save the forest.
In the human chain, members from Communist Party of India, Marxist party, Socialist Party, Aam Aadmi Party, SUCI, Loktantrik Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, United Trade Union Council, City Trade Union Council, JAYS , Narmada Bachao Andolan, Janata Shramik Sangh, Working Women's Organization, Bharatiya Jana Natya Sangh (IPTA), Progressive Writers Association, People's Writers Association, Federation of Indian Women, Phoolan Army, Bhagat Singh Diwane Brigade, Lohia Vichar Manch, Ambedkar Vichar Manch and various other social organisations raised their voice on the issue.
The activists of the social organizations participated and demanded not to sign the contract of 300 hectares of forest land being given on 50-year lease for diamond mining to Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited..
Ramswaroop Mantri, Piyush Joshi, Shyam Sundar Yadav, Arvind Porwal, Ajay Lagoo, Sarika Srivastava, Kailash Limbodia, and others discussed the issue and shared various details about the project. Following are the highlights of the issue on which MP has been witnessing protests for the last two months now.
What is the issue concerning?
The issue concerns 382.131-hectare patch of the protected Buxwaha forest that is proposed to be allotted to the Bunder diamond block. The forest clearance report states that a total of 2,15,875 trees would have to be cut down in this area for the proposed mine.
The bid for the block, which is estimated to have 34 million carats of rough diamonds, was won by Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited in December 2019. But there are several intricacies related to this controversial project that need to be examined.
Livelihood of Tribals under Threat
Buxwaha forest lies in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, about 260 km northeast of the state capital of Bhopal. Mantri, a volunteer with ‘Buxwaha Jungle Bachao Andolan’, said, "The region is still considered backward.
Around 7,000 villagers of the 17 tribal villages in the territory depend solely on forest products, like Mahua, Tendu leaves, Chironji, Aamla, etc, for their livelihood. The proposed mine would snatch away their income sources. For example, Mahua earns a family about Rs 40,000 to Rs 1,00,000 in a season."
What is at Stake?
According to the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), among India's four diamond-reserve states – Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha – Madhya Pradesh alone accounts for about 90.18 percent. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is actively pursuing prospective diamond blocks in these states.