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General Context

 

- Lexicon -

Adivasis : Indigenous communities living in the rural regions of the Indian sub-continent. Also called “tribals”, Adivasis live outside of the traditional Hindu social system. Almost exclusively rural, they sustain themselves from the agriculture.
Dalits : Litt. : the oppressed. Syn. : untouchables. The lowest of the castes within the Hindu social order.
Panchayat : A federation, or association, of villages.
Sarpanch : Elected representative of a Panchayat.
Gram sabha : Panchayat assembly.
Palli sabha : Village Assembly.
Oriya : Primary language spoken in Orissa.
Rayagada : District of the Orissa state.
Kashipur : Traditional name of the general region overlapping the Rayagada district, Orissa.


- Implicated Parties -

U.A.I.L. : Utkal Alumina International Limited. Joint venture project to exploit the bauxite reserves of the Kashipur region in the Indian state of Orissa.
Indal : Major partner in U.A.I.L. Subsidiary of Hindalco Industries, itself a filial of the Aditya Birla conglomerate.
ALCAN : Canadian transnational. Second largest aluminium producer in the world.
Norsk Hydro : Norwegian corporation active in the field of energy. Third aluminium producer in the world. Hydro has pulled back from UAIL after heavy pressure from Norwegian civil society.
Prakrutik Sampad Surakshya Parishad (PSSP): People’s movement based in Kashipur. Spearheading the resistance against UAIL.
Alcan’t in India : Solidarity campaign with the People’s struggle in Kashipur. Based in Montreal, Canada.

- Essential Fact Sheet -

- Since 1999, the Canadian corporation ALCAN is an active partner in the Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL) joint venture. Initially, the venture was composed of the following partners: Indal (India), Tata Industries(India) and Norsk Hydro (Norway).

- After the retreat of Norsk Hydro in 2001, Alcan now holds 45% of active shares in the joint venture. To this day, the major partner (55%) is Indal.

- UAIL, evaluated at over a billion dollars, comprises a bauxite mine and an alumina refinery, both projected for the Kashipur region (Rayagada district) in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.

- The inhabitants of the region mainly belong to Adivasis ( « tribals ») and Dalits (lowest of the Hindu castes) communities.

- The number of inhabitants that would be affected, directly or indirectly, by the project, is evaluated at between 10 000 and 60 000, depending on the sources.

- The project includes a “rehabilitation and resettlement” program for 148 families, a fraction of the thousands of people who would actually be affected by the project.

- The only official Environment Impact assessment completed to this day, by Engineers India Ltd., was never made public (though it is mandatory under Orissa state law), in spite of repeated requests from the People’s movement.

- Alcan has claimed to have support from elected representatives from 23 out of 24 “officially project affected” villages. To this day, the company can not, or refuses to, make public any proof that could substantiate this claim. The corporation has recently admitted that these documents hold no legal weight, since they are the result of “spontaneous meetings” (sic).

- Alcan’t in India has a substantial wealth of proof that the affected communities are in total opposition to the project, and it has made its proof public.

- In the face of grassroots resistance from the local communities, the project had been stalled since the year 2000, but the latest developments show that it is now going ahead in strenght.

- Since the Chief Minister of Orissa, Shri Naveen Patnaik, has openly called for the suppression of all anti-mining activity in Kashipur, late in 2004, gathering villagers have been brutally charged by the police, targeted “leaders” have been bullied and jailed under dubious charges, the local pro-People NGOs are the target of systematic political harassment and the region is essentialy under police occupation. The December 2004 commemoration was marked by goon violence toward demonstrators and outside observers.

- In 2005, several independent commissions were dipatched to the area and published first hand accounts of abuse and intimidation toward the People of Kashipur. All of it directly linked to the UAIL mining project and the grassroots opposition to it.

- The status of the project is pending. Alcan insist they are still at the "feasability study" phase.

 

- Detailed Background Information -

Kashipur block in the Rayagada district of Orissa contains one of the largest deposits of bauxite ores in the world. In 1993, a consortium of private companies collectively known as UAIL (Utkal Alumina International Ltd) was formed to initiate a project to extract these ores and produce alumina. The project area is chiefly occupied by adivasis (indigenous people of India) and dalits (low caste). This project, if executed will lead to large scale displacement and loss of livelihood for these people. The people of Kashipur have been opposing the project since its inception.


Why is the project harmful for the people?

Displacement and loss of livelihood: The people of Kashipur have been farming their land for centuries. Depriving them of their land would make them destitute since they do not have any other avenue for earning a living. Tens of thousands of people will be displaced by this project. If it goes ahead it will completely wipe out a self-sustained community.

Facts on displacement : Adivasis constitute less than 8% of India's population but account for more than 40% of India's displaced. Conservative estimates place the number of people displaced by “development” projects in India (since 1947) to 33 million. 1.4 million people have been displaced by such development projects in Orissa since 1947. Mining in Orissa has displaced 50 000 people. New projects are expected to displace at least another 100 000 people.

Loss of indigenous culture: The community would be splintered and this will lead to a loss of indigenous culture. The loss of community would also lead to increased insecurity for women and children. The people will lose Baphlimali hill to the mining project. Baphlimali hill is sacred to the people since they believe it to be the abode of the goddess Baphlimali.


Environmental impact

The bauxite mining technique proposed in Kashipur is extremely harmful for the environment. Effluent discharge - A by-product of bauxite refining is red mud. It will be disposed of using red mud stacking in an enclosed area. This method will give rise to at least 125 tons of caustic soda a day. The waste will be dumped into two streams that are the major key sources of water for the villages in the surrounding area. Such large amount of alkaline deposit will raise the pH of the water to 13, making it unfit for consumption. Agriculture and aquatic life downstream will be severely affected. Refer to http://www.saanet.org/kashipur/images/lake.jpg for an image of a waterbody polluted by the NALCO mining project in the vicinity of Kashipur.

Ash disposal: The power requirement of 80MW will require about 2800-3000 tons of coal per day. This is expected to generate 900-1000 tons of ash per day that will be dumped into an ash pond. Refer to http://www.saanet.org/kashipur/images/pond.jpg for image of the ash pond at the NALCO mining project near Kashipur.

Overburden dumping: According to the environmental clearance given by the government, the company does not have to take care of overburden dumping for the first five years. It is expected that the overburden will be dumped on the slopes of the mined area leading to siltation of streams, damage of slopes and cultivable lands.

Violation of fundamental rights: The fifth schedule of the Indian constitution guarantees the rights of
indigenous people over their natural resources and land. The adivasis will lose land that belongs to them according to the Indian constitution.

No tangible benefits for the people: This is a 100% export-oriented mining project. All the aluminium
produced will be exported since India is self sufficient in its aluminium production. There are no plans for Kashipur after the mining is over.


Status of the project

In spite of the repression, the people of Kashipur are steadfast in their opposition to the project. Work on the project hasn't yet started. However a recent judicial enquiry into the killings of Dec 16, 2000, cleared the company and the government. This gives them latitude to go ahead with this destructive endeavour.