An auction for exploration of critical minerals, essential for clean-energy solutions, highlights the increasing clash between India’s green ambitions and those who bear the cost of this transition. A thread by LCW’s @sukriti_vats, from Gujarat’s Kundol village.

In February 2024, villagers in Gujarat’s Aravalli district found that their land, rich in nickel and chromium, had been put on auction for mineral exploration, by the ministry of mines, three months ago with no notice.

The village, Kundol, is inhabited by the Dungri Garasia tribe, a clan of the Bhil community. The residents are small agriculturalists, who now fear displacement from the potential excavation of minerals. Nickel and chromium are among the 30 critical minerals identified by the govt as essential for clean-energy transition.

In August 2023, a few months before the tender for auction was published, the govt had amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957, to allow private sector investment in exploration for critical minerals.

The changes aim to speed up India’s shift towards a “sustainable & low-carbon future.” An area of 547.80 hectares, covering Kundol and two neighbouring villages, was part of the first tranche of auctions held right after the amendment.

The Kundol Gram Sabha believes that the auction violates protections granted to them under several legislations. It quickly exercised its rights by passing a resolution against the auction notice. Kundol is a fifth- schedule village, where the village local administration is empowered to make decisions in such cases.

They wrote letters to the Gujarat CM and President Droupadi Murmu, calling the auction a violation of their constitutional rights. They also noted that not consulting the villagers before this decision was in contravention of the PESA Act.

The notice for auction, without the gram sabha’s consent, was also in contravention of the Forest Rights Act of 2006, as there were about 125 households awaiting their individual FRA claims on 241.9 hectares of forest plots, which was part of the land placed on auction.

The auction process has been put on hold due to a lack of bidders, but the villagers continue to demand the cancellation of the auction and protection of their land. They fear that the auction will resume, now that the general elections are over.

They initially planned to boycott the Lok Sabha polls, hoping their demands would be heard. But changed their mind at the last minute as the district level officers got involved, persuading them otherwise.

The Aravalli district is not new to these struggles. In Idar town, barely 80 minutes from Kundol, laws were allegedly circumvented to lease out a mountain range to private companies for mining of granite despite protests.

“It’s not even about our homes and livelihood but losing this land would mean losing something sacred,” said one resident, explaining that for them, nature is “divine.” They also dreaded environmental degradation.

Read the full report here: https://article-14.com/post/in-a-gujarat-village-a-clash-between-clean-energy-solutions-those-who-bear-the-cost-of-the-transition-66ec8c3b33176…