IN 1793 Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Land Settlement. By the induction of this land tenure, the zamindars (or landlords) became the hereditary permanent holders of the land. They got the legitimate right to loot and exploit. 212 years after this Act, in 2005 the Left, supported by other democratic forces at the time of the UPA-I government, proposed a new legislation - The Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2005. By this Act, it was proposed that the acquired land under this law could not be sold to anyone and that the forest areas should be protected. Bodies like Van Suraksha Samitis (VSS, forest protection committees) or gram committees would be formed to monitor all the aspects.

In 2014 the BJP came into power. The government was indifferent to distributing pattas (title deeds) among the adivasis. The state governments like the TMC-led one in Bengal also followed the path of the central government. From 2005-2011, the Left Front government of West Bengal had given as many pattas as possible to the tribal people belonging to this forest area. Since then, the government of West Bengal, which now safeguards the interests of crony capitalism, has not taken this work much further.

Using this fake development narrative, the TMC government is planning to evict the adivasis, the minorities, and the dalits from their lands. It is the responsibility of all the people who believe in democracy to stand firmly against this heinous attempt by the state government.  Deucha Pachami open cast coal mine is nothing but the effort of the TMC government to encroach land of the adivasis.

ADIVASIS WORST-HIT

After independence, time and again the adivasis were evicted from their lands on the excuse of development. According to the 2011 census, 8.2 per cent of the Indian population is adivasis. It is very striking to know that the largest chunk of people who have lost lands are adivasis – 55.16 per cent. The vulnerable adivasi community is under attack in the name of mainstream development. Now again the TMC government is trying to evict adivasis for the Deucha Pachami open pit coal mine project.

In Birbhum, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government has acquired 3, 294 kms area out of 10 square km of forest land for the Deucha Pachami mining project. For this project 21,000 adivasis are on the verge of losing land and may be relegated to the category of migrants.

This proposed coal mining project is going to bring environmental hazards for the people living from Dubrajpur to Siuri and Illambazar area. In future, it will make the whole area a desert. The 10-12 inch thick layer of the soil where farming happens takes 10,000 years to form. Coal mining will change the structure of the soil and the whole land will turn barren.

The top-soil where we live and farm takes thousands of years to be formed – at least 10,000 years. This is commonly called soil. The vegetation soil is 5 to 10 inches thick. Just below the topsoil layer is the subsoil layer or alluvium (1 to 2 metres thick.) In some places, it can be thicker. The surface soil which is 5 to 10 inches thick is very important for our habitat.  After the subsoil, the layers look like soil but it is not soil. The open cast coal mine of Deucha Pachami will destroy these layers and our environment.

GOVERNMENT’S CLAIMS VS BARE FACTS

The TMC government is claiming that the Deucha Pachami project will be instrumental in setting up other ancillary industries and is comparing Deucha Pachami to the proposed Singur project that was ruined by this TMC party itself. The reality is just the opposite. Unlike the automobile industry, not much ancillary industry can thrive around the coalfield area. If we look around the Asansol, Jharia, Durgapur, and Raniganj coalfield areas, we can realise the stark reality. If we look at the Zamuria and Barbuni coalfield areas where PDCL has coal mining, we can see the real face of “development”. No ancillary industry has been set up at Deucha.  Coal is, we may underscore, only a supporting power for big industry.

This Deucha Pachami project is nothing but the trap of the big crony capitalists to stash more capital. When democracy becomes weak, the big crony capitalists use the strategy of capital growth to destroy the economy of the state by investing the capital of the state without any investment of its own. Now it is being said that Deucha Pachami has Grade C to G coal which is very low in quality.

It has been claimed that four layers of coals have been found in the Deucha Pachami block. The lowest bed of the block is called coal seam - I, which is 80 metres thick. And above the coal seam I, there is coal seam - II. Between coal seam I and coal seam II there is a 200-metre-thick layer of non-coal rock. Above coal seam - II, there is the 30 metre layer of coal seam III. Above these three layers, there is coal seam - IV which is 30 metres thick.

Now, there is apparently nothing wrong with the numbers. But above this coal seam IV layer, there is basaltic or volcanic rock (hardened molten lava). This layer is approximately 225- 245 m thick and further above this is a 20 m deep soil and rock layer. Even if the first 20 m soil-rock layer is penetrable, an attempt to extract coal from such deep within the earth, penetrating the hard basalt layer, would perhaps be the first in the world. According to experts, such a project can never be profitable.

The fun part is: considering that this project cannot be profitable, on March 9, 2011, the then coal department central minister said in response to Prashanta Kumar Majumdar and Nripendranath Ray’s question no. 2078 in the Lok Sabha that 10 sq.km of South West Birbhum area might provide 2025 million ton of C-G grade quality coal but Coal India will not be a part of this project. The central minister also added that although there is a proposal from the West Bengal state government in collaboration with the Coal India, National Mineral Development Corporation, the central government cannot be a part of this project.

So, given the geological hindrances, responsible and profitable coal extraction is never possible from this block. Our national technology is not adequate to extract coal from such deep and open cast mines Accessing the top layer of coal (which is seam IV) by penetrating through this hard basaltic, is a near- impossible task. Actually, more than extracting coal from the granite layer, penetrating the basaltic layer is arduous, and also extremely expensive.

Back in 2016, the central government proposed coal mining from this block to the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Realizing that this project can never be profitable, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh backed out and West Bengal based PDCL received a tender in 2018 for coal mining from this block. The astounding fact is that there is no guarantee of an adequate stockpile of coal in this block because the assumption is based on only 36 bore-well surveys. To get a guaranteed figure of the actual coal stockpile more random bore wells are required. Now, further random bore-well surveys are not getting implemented because it is a hugely expensive process.

There is no problem in assuming that the Deucha Pachami mine, if at all it gets implemented, will be one of the most modern open cast coal mines. Production from mechanised mines is machine dependent; hence the employment opportunities here are minimal. Only a very skilled labour force is required. So, the Bengal CM’s announcement to create over a few lakh jobs from this project is at best imprudent and impulsive.

ENVIORONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) CRUCIAL

Sporadic borings will not get us anywhere. Rather the borings must stop and EIA process must begin immediately. What we need here are practical and scientific measures and not falling prey to the greed factor. Topographies are no child’s play. The state government is taking a huge risk for Deucha Pachami project. To avoid expenses, the state government is avoiding the EIA process and moving forward with the mining project based on mere assumptions only.

Boring through 245 m basalt is simply unfeasible. This has never happened in the world and the only way out here is taking a shortcut which is going for a 100-105m boring instead of an 800 m boring and developing fake reports based on this. This is very much possible with this current corrupt government. This corruption will only lead us into an extremely disastrous situation because in the absence of a proper EIA we will never know if there are any radioactive particles present deep down in the open cast mine.

DON’T WE NEED COAL THEN?

Of course, we need coal. But coal should be mined scientifically. The government must make sure it has a plan to reuse the land after mining. Will all the people losing their lands due to mining be given jobs? If not, then the amount of land needs to be fixed for which one will be provided a job. What kind of jobs will those be, permanent, or temporary? Will there be any social security? How will the salaries be fixed? How many people here have land measuring 1 or less than 1 satak (0.01 acre)? Will they get any rehabilitation? Will there be any alternative job opportunity for them? What type of job opportunities are we talking about?

How many landless people reside here? How will they be rehabilitated? It is obvious that everyone residing in this project area, be it their own land or rented land, will have to be relocated. Where shall they go? What kinds of residence will they get and who will provide those residences? The state government must make all this clear before the initiation of the project. There are sharecroppers, bargadars, small peasants, big peasants, businessmen, landless sons of the soil residing in the area. When they are rehabilitated, will they have the existing culture and diversity in their new residential area?

The Deucha Pachami mining will most severely affect the tribal women of the area. Generally, the tribal women are given honorable positions within their tribes. The tribal women who are being forced out of their lands, due to mining projects, are losing their economic as well as family roles in the process. How does the government propose to protect the traditional culture of the tribal women of Deucha Pachami? The state government must answer.

Plans should be made to address environmental issues and particularly the green cover that will be destroyed. A decision has to be taken about where the forests will be recreated, and whether there will be forest resources of the type that exist. What will happen to the existing canals, tanks and ponds and what will happen to the courses of Ajay and other small rivers? Plans should be made to protect and restore the biodiversity that will be destroyed. What will happen to temples, mosques, churches, hospitals? What will happen to the grazing land of the indigenous people?

In order to make this project successful, it is necessary to proceed cautiously with coordination between environmental science, social science, geology and ecology, and between medical scientists, hydrologists, social scientists, politicians, environmental scientists and so on, prioritising the interests of the people. Otherwise, any rash decision will bring danger to all of us.