There’s a new reality taking shape in the mining industry in Goa, and this could be something to cheer about, or at the very least something that brings hope of a change.
Amidst the dust clouds raised by mining in the village of Sonshi in the North Goa district, from the village of Caurem in the South district comes a silver lining. Last month the villagers of Caurem managed to get their Sadhana Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd (SMCSL) registered with the government and have now taken a giant leap forward, by approaching the Directorate of Mines and Geology and seeking permission to carry out iron ore mining activity through this cooperative. In their representation made to the Directorate of Mines and Geology, SMCSL said that only co-operatives such as theirs, formed by the local communities, can promote sustainable, lawful and equitable mining, that can ensure inter-generational equity. But, will the government acquiesce to their request and permit the co-operative to begin mining operations?
Past history doesn’t provide much hope that the day when co-operatives are allowed to take over mining operations is near. The people of Caurem, however, are fighters for their rights. They have battled mining companies and law enforcement agencies in the past, even blocking transportation of e-auctioned ore through the village last year. They have seen their leaders assaulted, the promoter of the co-operative even assaulted when in judicial custody last year. For them, even getting the society registered was a battle that lasted 34 months. The intent of the co-operative is to enter the mining business whereby they will operate leases, extract ore, transport the extracted ore, sell and export it. Their application for registration was rejected on grounds that no society can be registered under the resource category. The people challenged this in court and got directions to the Registrar of Co-operative Societies to register the co-operative, making it the first such co-operative to be registered in the State.
Caurem is a tribal village that has often been in the news because of conflicts between the villagers and the mining firms that own and operated the leases there. The contention of the villagers is that the village resources belong solely to them, including the lands on which the mining leases have been granted to companies. They claim that their tribal lands have been usurped by the mining companies who proffer the leases granted by the government as their legal documentation and right to the land and resources. The people of Caurem want to put an end to that through the co-operative society and have so demanded that the existing mining leases in the village be transferred to the co-operative society and until that is done, they be allowed to monitor mining activities undertaken in their village.
Can Caurem lead the way to community mining? Will this make other villages across the State venture into the co-operative set up and taking the plunge into the mining business? Caurem has set a precedent towards this, and shown that with a little determination it can succeed. It is still early and all they have done is apply for permission to carry out mining operations. It is now for the government to act on the request put in by the Sadhana Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd.
All eyes are now on how the government acts on the application from the new co-operative society. For the government taking a decision on this won’t be easy, as whatever decision it takes will set an even bigger precedent than the one set by the villagers of Caurem of venturing into co-operative mining, and could even lead to another round of litigation in the courts. It’s not just the members of Sadhana Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd that await the government’s response, but all of Goa does.
