In Chhattisgarh, project-affected people of BALCO Mainpat Bauxite Mines continue to wait for the promised resettlement and rehabilitation even after the mine has been shut down.
Bauxite mining in Mainpat tehsil in Surguja district (erstwhile Madhya Pradesh) began in 1993 under Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO). About 639 hectares of land were leased to the company. This rendered small farms unsuitable for cultivation, affected the environment adversely and displaced hundreds of families, mainly from the Manjhi, Kanwar and Pahadi Korwa tribes.
Officially, the project displaced 95 families in three villages. Reportedly, those who were compensated received only INR 12,000 per acre as opposed to INR 50,000 per acre that was promised. With the creation of Chhattisgarh in 2000, BALCO's ownership was bought over by Sterlite group, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources. The new management failed to deliver on the compensation promise.
In 2007, Jagardev Yadav, a villager, was reportedly beaten up and jailed for protesting against the lack of rehabilitation by Sterlite. The same year, another resident, Somnath Manjhi, had reported that extractive activities had rendered the soil useless, which led to diseases and posed health hazards to the residents.
In [October 2007](https://www.oxfamindia.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/Closing the Enforcement Gap.pdf), the Expert Appraisal Committee of the environment ministry rejected BALCO’s proposal for extending the environmental clearance citing “[poor performance](https://www.oxfamindia.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/Closing the Enforcement Gap.pdf)” in conserving the biodiversity and ensuring rehabilitation. Subsequently, a court case was filed against the company for exceeding the capacity grant. However, despite complaints of rehabilitation and environmental violations filed with government bodies, the mine received both forest clearance in 2008 and a lease extension for another 10 years in 2012.
In 2016, BALCO proposed to expand the production capacity in Mainpat from 0.75 to 2.25 million tonnes per annum. To secure local consent for expansion, a public hearing was held on April 4 that year, which concluded unsuccessfully. The villagers protested against the government's failure to grant compensation and employment for the displacement that first took place in 1993. They also cited procedural violations, discrepancies in rehabilitation policy and environmental and public health concerns to oppose the expansion plans.
Attorney Sanjay Ambasht noted that the public hearing was void without BALCO’s fulfilment of a prior Chhattisgarh high court order, which had directed BALCO to fulfil 12 conditions on environmental, human rights and rural development concerns. The company had failed to heed the order and had proceeded with the public hearing anyway. Currently, BALCO cannot proceed with the expansion of Mainpat mine.
In March 2019, BALCO delisted the expansion proposal, and in September, the company decided to temporarily shut down mining activities from October 10. But the issues of resettlement and rehabilitation for the families displaced is 1993 are yet to be addressed.
In July 2022, the Mineral Department approved five bauxite mines to CMDC. The bauxite excavation will be done in about 600 hectares of land spread across Narmadapur, Kamleshwar, Dand Kesara, Patharai, Barima villages of Mainpat. In Mainpat, 12 mines are already operated by CMDC and one mine is operated by BALCO.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Complaint against procedural violations
Demand for employment
Demand for promised compensation
Demand for rehabilitation
Opposition against environmental degradation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common and Private
Forest and Non-Forest
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project scrapped
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
11
Type of investment:
Cost of Project
Year of Estimation
1993
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Environmental Laws, Land Acquisition Laws, Constitutional Law, Other
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Non-implementation/violation of LARR Act
Violation of environmental laws
Delay in compensation
Non-payment of compensation/promised compensation
Non-rehabilitation of displaced people
Non-implementation/violation of PESA
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Arrest/detention/imprisonment
Displacement
Physical attack
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
Jagardev Yadav, a villager, was reportedly beaten up and jailed for protesting against the lack of rehabilitation by Sterlite for acquiring his land.
Date of Violation
July 30, 2007
Location of Violation
Mainpat
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Chhattisgarh State Government
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), Vedanta Resources
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
No
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Manjhi, Kanwar and Pahadi Korwa tribal communities
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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