Mining scam in Orissa only a tip of the iceberg

BHUBANESWAR | Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Pravin Patel

Orissa is not only the poorest State of the country but also the most corrupt one. The mining scam that has surfaced recently is a tip of the iceberg. Without the involvement of people at the top position of the power, such a huge scam of over Rs 4,500 crore or even much more cannot take place. It is no more a puzzle to crack as to why the people of Orissa are poorest in a State which is bestowed with huge natural resources.

The Chief Minister wears a mask of honesty but has failed to accept the challenge to prove his honesty. He has not only failed to order quick and strong actions to nab the real big sharks involved in the scam, but has also adopted a delaying tactics by ordering a departmental inquiry to be conducted by the Secretary, Ministry of Mines, who has also failed to know what is happening just below his nose.

Even suspending few officials, including the Director of Mines, is of no significance. Delaying tactics adopted by the departmental inquiry are nothing but an act to cool down the tempers of the people, as he knows very well that public memory is short, where after few months no body will talk about the scam. No body should be surprised to see those suspended officials managing to get their suspension order cancelled and climb back to the seat of power by getting a plum posting, so as to reopen the shutters of their new shops.

It is not that the top officials did not know any thing as to what is going on at Keonjhar in the name of mining. Besides the Mining Department, the Forest Department is also a partner to this crime. Who can believe them that 36 hectare of forestland has been used for illegal mining where large scale activities of men, machinery, materials and transportation is going on round the clock. But when a poor tribal takes a bamboo to weave baskets, he is booked within no time. This is what we see in many tribal areas more particularly in Orissa. When the Forest Rights Act recognises rights of tribals on forest land under their occupation, few retired forest officials have filed an PIL against it. But in this instance, they are hiding their faces. It is needless to say that the Forest Department in Orissa is also one of the most corrupt departments.

After mining and forest departments, it is the transport and police departments which are also responsible in the scam. How can the officials of both this department be spared from the scope of inquiry? Over 5,000 trucks overloaded with minerals from Keonjhar ply on all days throughout the night on NH-215, controlled by seven big gangsters who have formed an unholy nexus with the police and transport department officials, constructed temporary barriers where they stop mineral loaded trucks to forcibly extract money.

Their terror is such that whatever amount that comes out of their mouth has to be paid by the driver. There is no scope for any bargain or refusal but to pay what ever is demanded or get physically assaulted. This speaks about the volume of lawlessness in the area, exposing the true colour of the Police and Transport department officials like RTO and MVI in allowing the gangsters to run a parallel Government that results in sharing booty of Rs 40 lakh every day in between them. How can the office of the Chief Minister deny having any knowledge of such large scale open loot of mineral wealth that is known to gangsters on the street? Irony is that there is no moral left in the Chief Minister to accept the mistake or if he is clean, why he hesitates to order a CBI inquiry with scope of inquiry extended to the role of forest, transport, environment and police department officials who all have made their faces dirty in this mining scam.

By not ordering a CBI inquiry, the Chief Minister looks pigmy. It makes me laugh at him the way he tries to save big sharks that are swimming freely in the vast ocean of corruption. Had such scam had happened in China, Director of Mining and a few others would have faced live bullets of firing squad within days of being caught. What happened with two officials who were found in corrupt deals with baby food manufacturers who had used banned harmful chemicals to prepare milk powder. Not only trial was completed in 28 days but they were put before the firing squad as was pronounced in the judgment.

Naveen Patnaik needs to learn lessons from Omar Abdullah, who took no time to resign from the post of Chief Minister when charges were hurled on him on the floor of the House. Here entire opposition alleges that he has a direct role by deliberately creating opportunities for the mining mafias to loot the mineral wealth; allegations are also hurled at him on the floor of the house that he has not even cared to implement the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel that had expressed concern over the 'dilly-dallying' attitude of the Government to check illegal mining and theft of the minerals, in its report of 2006. Congress leaders are alleging that at least s 1 lakh crore worth minerals have been looted during the period 2001-2009.

It is a fact that all the players in mining business make huge money. But when it comes to pay a small fraction of it as the royalty to the State, those mining companies play gimmicks to deprive the State of its legitimate share.

In the mining scam, President of Orissa Mineral Traders’ Association is of the opinion that they suffer at the hands of mining officials now, since the scam surfaced in August 2009. Genuine mineral traders are harassed to cover up the irregularities of the mining officials. All of a sudden, he realises that 500 business firms engaged in mineral trading in Orissa are facing an uncertain future. These crocodiles do not speak a word on tribals this time despite they know that the tribals whom they have pushed out of their lands are suffering an uncertain future. Their peaceful abode that was lush green is now wearing a look of environmentally degraded area with roads totally broken with pits of all the sizes, no safe drinking water and plagued by elephant menace. But no body speaks a word about them. When the mentality is not to behave honestly, there are faces who try to seek relief at a time when the dust of mining scam is blowing in the air all over the State.

We also need to look at the speed with which the State is anxious to ink one MoU after another that has a captive mining tag. It is now very common to realise why such extraordinary interest, why this all pampering? The answer is simple, where there is honey, honeybees will be there. In mining, huge money is there, every one is in the Government or the private player or the gangsters, all are interested to share the booty. In the name of industrialisation and mining, big dreams are sold to poor and unemployed youth but when we take stock of the realities those dreams are shattered within no time.

Questions are raised by many why, despite huge natural wealth in the State, its people are very poor. The truth is that in the name of development, in the name of providing jobs, all that mineral wealth is allowed to be looted to those faces who have nothing to do with the State or its people but to make money at a jet speed. In the unholy nexus of the crocodiles with the State officials, the sole aim is to make money by hook or crook.

There is no way out except to go to the depth of the scam and expose all those who are involved, however powerful they may be. Knee-jerk reaction of the State is not going to serve any purposes. I am of the strong opinion that what we have come to know is only a tip of the iceberg. We need to reach to the bottom to find the real names of those who are the persons behind the curtain who have pulled the strings.

Something drastic needs to be done by all in whatever way they can. It is time to raise the voice to expose the big sharks and demand justice, for which if required, all should take to the streets as there is no other way out under the given circumstances. Youth have an important role to play. Media needs to be proactive. This is also the test for the media that they are also pro-active and not the puppets in the hands of any one to hide the facts from coming out.

The Bofors scandal was only of Rs 68 crore but it rocked the country and Rajiv Gandhi Government fell flat on the anger of the people who threw Congress out of power. Congress party is yet to recover from those shocks. Here is the scam which is much larger in size which appears to be a tip of the iceberg. It is now up to the people of the State to see how they take to the streets to unveil the real face of this so-called ‘clean’ State Government.

-The writer is a human rights activist and director of Tribal Welfare Society. Comments and suggestions may be sent at janatavikasmanch@gmail.com or tribalwelfare@gmail.com

http://dailypioneer.com/207050/Mining-scam-in-Orissa-only-a-tip-of-the-iceberg.html