The government’s response to the demands of the villagers of Cavrem does not bode well for the restart of mining operations in Goa. Given that extraction of ore has been stopped since 2012 and is only now taking a few steps towards restarting, the government should have been more guarded in the manner in which it has responded to the villagers’ demands and to how they want mining in their village to take place. Cavrem is neither opposing mining, nor is it demanding extraction rights. All it is asking is that it be done in such manner that the villagers benefit from the activity. Is that too much to ask? If the government could strive towards recommencing mining, even negotiating with the Centre for tax sops, it surely can listen to the people and meet their legitimate demands.
Last month the residents of this South Goa village had written to various authorities relating their sufferings due to the alleged illegal mining that had taken place in the village from 2008 to 2012. It was due to this alleged illegal mining that the villagers, instead of waiting for the government to take steps to control the illegalities in the industry, decided to form a co-operative society that would carry out mining transportation and other related activities so that they could put a stop to the alleged illegal mining activities, get equitable employment and ensure sustainable mining. The villagers also wanted the authorities to immediately take possession of the ore lying in the lease areas, carry out inventories of the stacks, and implement monitoring and supervision requirements before any ore is transported. All very admirable efforts.
Here is a village that is taking a lead in doing something positive towards mining, and instead of drawing a positive response from the government, the villagers have borne the brunt of the government machinery attempting to stop their efforts. The government should instead allow the villagers of Cavrem to take forward their cooperative and if it is a success use that as a model across mining villages in the State. All it needs is an open mind on the part of the government and the mining firms to allow the cooperative to function. That can come about through dialogue and that is what the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) has called upon the government to do, enter into dialogue with the Cavrem villagers rather than indulge in ‘violation of human rights and illegal mining’ in the village.
Mining operations have hardly restarted and the allegations of illegalities have resurfaced. It is as if the authorities have not learnt any lessons from the three years of a closure of operations. Past excesses in mining brought Goa a bad name and even led to the stoppage of operations for three years. Against this background, every effort should have been made to not allow allegations of illegalities to surface again. But, even before mining operations can be fully restarted, the allegations of illegalities in mining operations have resurfaced.
Instead of looking into the allegations, the authorities have acted against those making them. There are FIRs filed against those agitating, they have been arrested and one of them even beaten up while in the lockup, but no FIR filed in that case yet. The message that the government is sending is that it is pro-mining and not on the side of the people. This is not the first time that the people of Cavrem have seen the wrong end of the stick. It happened in 2011 leading to the Human Rights Commission directing to compensate the victims, and it is happening five years later. At that time it was a different government in power, but the manner in which the people of Cavrem are being treated is no different. History is repeating itself, and Cavrem is where it is happening.
