22 Jul 2021  |   06:58am IST

How mining barons controlled governments

Mining and political manipulation went hand-in-hand for many years. Isn’t this an absolute fact that no ruling party or government could afford to be on the wrong side of the mining barons? From the top levels of the bureaucracy to the Mines Department and all other concerned departments functioned as strong allies of the mining barons, especially during the period when illegal mining activity was at its peak.

According to sources, this worked because MLAs across party lines, especially in the mining belt but even outside, were backed and funded by one mining tycoon or the other. Others were involved or engaged professionally as machinery suppliers, given truck and barge contracts etc.

At the same time, they backed regional parties that had a few MLAs so that the mining barons could have control over the government. With a combination of ruling MLAs, opposition MLAs, and regional party MLAs, they held both the purse strings and the political strings of the government.

Is there any wonder that the government did everything for mine (lease) owners interests and not the people’s interest?