Industrialization and Protest Movements in

Odisha

Presented by: Sameer Kumar Jena

• Industrialization including mining activities has received wide acceptance as a major

strategy for development all over the world.

• In the post-independence period, India embarked on a course of industrialization

under the support of the public sector, which assumed “commanding heights”.

• The private sector also did not lag far behind under a system called ‘mixed

economy’.

Introduction:

• After a lapse of four decades, there has been a shift in emphasis following the processes of

liberalization, privatization and globalization.

• The strategies, however, continue unchanged though the role of the public sector has been

shrinking, assigning an ascending role to the private sector including foreign investors.

• The corporate houses both private and public are the agencies to carry on directly the

program of industrialization.

• However, even in the changed scenario, the state, functioning within a system of competitive

politics and democratic framework, continues to be the prime mover and guardian of the

whole enterprise.

• Of late, a new trend is in evidence in the process of development.

• posing a serious threat to the process of industrialization.

• It involves colossal loss and premature closure of the industrial units but also generates a

good deal of social tension and political tension leading to political instability.

• state taking the advantage of the new economic reforms starts the process of

industrialization, the local people resist the developmental efforts raising a host of questions

which affect adversely their lives.

• In the process the forces which are released create difficulties in the path of industrialization,

leading to closure of the units in a few cases.

Experience of Odisha

• Odisha is predominantly an agricultural state where nearly 70% of the working population

depends on agriculture.

• The state is rich in mineral resources:

• It has 5,428 million tones of iron ore deposit, 1/3 of total iron-ore deposits of the country.

• 1/4 of the coal deposit of the country is in the state.

• in addition to 98 – 99% and 63% of chromites and bauxite deposits respectively.

• Besides, the available infrastructure includes water in plenty, power at a cheap rate, 480 kms

of coastline with one large port at Paradip and two proposed ports at Dhamra and Gopalpur.

Experience of Odisha

• In order to bring economic development, the government has launched a massive

programme of industrialization.

• The state government has signed as many as 43 memoranda of understanding with

various corporate bodies for setting up of their industrial units at an investment of Rs

1, 60,000 crore.

• It has been estimated that there are as many as 92 industrial units engaged in

production of Sponge Iron, which are mainly concentrated in six districts.

The Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex

Protest against Vedanta

Protest against Posco-India Steel Plant at Paradip

Protest Movements

• The Government of Orissa mooted the idea of developing a major industrial complex

in the early nineties of the 20th century in the mineral-rich region of Dangadi, Duburi

and Sukinda located in the district of Jajpur.

• The proposed complex has the capacity of producing 15 million tones of steel annually.

• The state government has agreed to acquire land from the local residents as well as to

look into all matters relating to displacement, rehabilitation, and resettlement.

However, all the efforts for industrialization are met with violent protest movements

with increasing frequency.

The Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex

• The compensation package was announced in 1994 , people complained that they were paid less and being forced to lose their means of livelihood.

• On January 2, 2006, the tribals of Kalinga Nagar have launched an indefinite economic blockade on the National Highway 200 at Madhuban Chhak.

• They are not prepared to work out any compromise with the State Government.

• So far all efforts of the government to appease the tribes have failed.

• On May 23, about 5000 women from Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh took out a rally and resolved not to lift the road blockade which is by now one year old.

The Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex

• Tata Steel Company has announced a package.

• According to the scheme, every displaced family would be considered as a family of the Tata

Steel and the Company would look into their all-round development.

• The Company would take stock of the social and economic conditions of the displaced families

every month and all the families numbering about 700 would be provided with identity cards

and their progress in matters of rehabilitation and resettlement would be monitored regularly.

• The Company has formed a task force which includes 7 tribal members to look into all matters

relating to displacement and resettlement.

• The package, it is claimed, is the best in the country.

The Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex

• The Niyamgiri Hills form a mountain range in the Eastern Indian state of Orissa.

• They are home to more than 8,000 of the Dongria Kondh people, whose lifestyle and religion have helped nurture the area’s dense forests and unusually rich wildlife.

• Vedanta Resources wanted to mine the bauxite from the top of the same mountain.

• The Dongria Kondh would lose their livelihood, their identity and the sanctity of their most religious site.

• In common with other displaced tribal peoples worldwide, they would also lose their present good health, their self-sufficiency and their expert knowledge of the hills, forests and farming systems that they have nurtured.

• At the centre of the struggle was the Dongria’s sacred mountain, the ‘mountain of law’. The Dongriasworship the top of the mountain as the seat of their god and protect the forests there.

• The Dongria Kondh have successfully fought off Vedanta Resources, a company that was determined to mine their sacred mountain’s rich seam of bauxite (aluminium ore).

Protest against the Vedanta Alumina Limited at

Lanjigarh

Environment & Vedanta• Vedanta has been criticised by so many groups because of the company's operations in Niyamgiri Hills,

that are said to threaten the lives of the Dongria Kondh people who populate this region.

• Vedanta's Alumina Refinery in Lanjigarh was criticised by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (the statutory environmental regulation body) for air pollution and water pollution in the area. According to Amnesty International, local people reported dust from the plant settling on clothes, crops and food.

• Among the major environmental impacts of bauxite mining are the implications of the disposal of alkaline mud otherwise known as 'red mud'.

• Escape of caustic soda, used to extract alumina from raw bauxite, into the ground water is quite likely which will increase sodium concentration in the well water, etc., and high sodium is undesirable in potable water since it is associated with hypertension.

• It becomes even inhuman and anti-conservation when one sees gross undervaluation of the close interaction between the local tribes especially the primitive tribe ‘Dongaria Kondha’ with the nature and other forms of life in Niyamgiri.

• A mass movement is going on since 2004. On April 7,2004 the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, an organization of one thousand tribal people of the area was formed to protect the forest, land and water of the area, giving the slogan, `Vendat Hatao’ (Remove Vendant)

• The agitating masses point out that the company has a plan of giving employment benefit to only 286 persons and the use of water from the river Tel by the company would spell disaster for the cultivating class of the district, besides causing environmental degradation.

• A tribal leader Samiti Daisingh Majhi says: `Niyamgiri hills, popularly called Niyam Penu (God) are considered as the mother of the tribals. Such emotional issues should be kept above petty politics’.

• Further he adds; The tribals are bothered about the area’s forests, natural springs and wildlife resources. The parties should not indulge in politics over the nature’s gift`

• The tribals had unanimously rejected the mining proposal at the gram sabhas held in 12 villages between July 19 and August 20, 2013.

Protest against Vedanta

“A decade-long stand-off between Vedanta and the villagers of Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills has culminated in an outright rejection of then company’s plans to mine bauxite to feed

its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh on August ,2013.”

• The people of Jagatsinghpur district in coastal Orissa have been actively engaged in a protest

movement against Posco, a South Korean company planning to set up its 51000-crore steel plant

since June’2005.

• The company has also a plan to open a new private port of its own in order to avail the facilities

of special economic zone.

• The state government would acquire 435 acres of private land for the plant which involves

displacement of 20,000 to 25,000 of people.

• The Samiti has raised a brigade of 1200 people who are ready to keep the movement alive.

• At times there have been violent clashes between the supporters of the proposed plant and the

people, calling for intervention of the police

Protest against Posco-India Steel Plant at Paradip

• The Sangram Samiti has also involved the children and women of the locality. They have put up

barricades at the entry points to these villages which are guarded by women and children to

prevent entry of government and POSCO officials.

• On 22 June, 2006, as many as 20,000 people including 3,000 children decided to observe mass fasting to protest against their displacement.

• POSCO officials announced that the proposed plant would recruit 97% Indians in its labor intensive project and would extend employment benefits to 48000 people directly.

• But people have turned a deaf ear to it. They strongly object to the setting up of the plant on several grounds.

Protest against Posco-India Steel Plant at Paradip

• Firstly, the phoenix method to be applied by the company for melting iron would adversely affect the environment for which no industrial house has obtained permission through out the country.

• Secondly, the huge quantity of water which would be utilized by the proposed plant from the river Mahanadi would not only affect the cultivators but also rob the fishing folk of their only means of livelihood. It is estimated that the number of project affected people is likely to cross one lakh.

• Thirdly; the question of giving mining lease to a foreign company at a cheap rate has stirred up patriotic feelings among the people.

• The Hind Majdoor Sabha has expressed its deep concern over the proposal to set up a new private port by the Posco since it would affect the working of the existing Paradip port.

• The Sangram Samiti has raised a band of young men who are prepared even to sacrifice their lives in resisting the move for displacement.

Environment & Posco-India Steel Plant

2005: Posco signs pact with Odisha govt for 12-mt steel plant.

2007: Posco gets environment nod for the plant; state seeks nod from environment ministry for

diversion of 1,253 ha of land to Posco

2010: Project gets forest clearance for using forestland that villagers claim as betel plantations

2011: UPA govt re-examines the green nod, puts new conditions; protesting villagers clash with

police; clearance challenged in National Green Tribunal

2012: Tribunal suspends environment clearance, sets up panel to re-examine project for specific

environment impact

2014: Environment ministry under UPA grants fresh clearance again with new conditions; clearance

challenged for not following court orders; court stops work for lack of conveyance of forest

clearance by Odisha to company

2016: Posco tells court it will not pursue the project anymore…

Life And Death Of POSCO

As observed here all these protest movements are mainly:

• Against displacement of people

• For protection of the local environment

• The people complain against poor rate of compensation

• Gross inadequacies in matters of resettlement and rehabilitation.

As regards industrialization of Orissa in the present context, many questions have

been raised. We are yet to find out satisfactory answers to them.

The first and foremost of them relates to total depletion of mineral deposits.

The second question relates to acute shortage of water for the purpose of irrigation Widespread mining activities would certainly lead to drying up of the natural sources

Conclusion:

Thirdly, it may be pointed out that the average life span of a plant is 35 to 50 years. What would

happen to the state after all the mineral deposits are used up barely after 50 years? Widespread

mining operations are sure to result in destruction of forests and green belts. The devoured land

mass may not be suitable for agriculture nor for any productive purpose.

“The most important issues which have surface the movements

are livelihood issues and rights of the certain sections people which include the

tribals, peasants and the fisher folk for whom the compensation package and

rehabilitation measures hold out no promise.”

Conclusion: