Friday, April 4, 2008

'Mining has uprooted 2.6 million people in India'

Ranchi: A book by Center for Science and Environment (CSE) has raised the issue of displacement due to mining. It says that nearly 2.6 million people have been displaced between 1950 and 1991 due to mining. The book, "Rich Land, Poor People - Is sustainable Mining Possible?" was released by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Ranchi on Friday.

The book highlights the fact, that for every one per cent that mining contributes to India's GDP, it displaces three to four times more people than all development projects put together.

According to the excerpts from the book made available to the media, it says that only 25 per cent of the total displaced people have been rehabilitated and 52 per cent of the displaced population belonged to tribal communities.

The book also states that an estimated 1,64,000 hectares of forestland have been diverted for mining in the country. It also stated that the daily water needs of more than three million people can be met easily if we ward off mining as it used 77 million tonnes of water in the year 2005-06 alone.

The book also revealed that the mining of major minerals generated about 1.84 billion tonnes of waste in 2006 - most of which has not been disposed off properly and every tonne of coal extracted generates three to four tonnes of waste. (IANS)

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