Rehabilitate tribal workers of closed mines

BHUBANESWAR: Social worker Tulasi Munda on Monday sought rehabilitation of all the tribals who lost their livelihood following closure of the mines. “Condition of the tribals of Keonjhar has, in fact, worsened following the closure of  illegal mines,” she claimed.Last month, the Government had served show-cause notices to 57 mines for violation of norms under the Mines and Mineral Development Regulation-1957 (MMDR) Act. These mines are located in the mineral-rich Keonjhar district which reported higher incidence of illegal activities.Stating that mines of State-owned PSUs like Odisha Mining Corporation, Odisha Mineral Development Corporation and Industrial Development Corporation and some private mines employed tribal workforce of the district in  large numbers, Munda said all of them are now leading a miserable life with no other source of livelihood. “Even as the Government went ahead in suspending works of these mines, it gave little thought to rehabilitation of the tribal workforce,” she said, adding that there are umpteen number of villages where mining has resulted in irreversible environmental degradation.Alleging that while benefits of Government schemes hardly reach the tribal families, she said they cannot even fall back on agriculture with rampant mining affecting the existing crop lands. She added that roads in the district had been severely damaged due to frequent transportation of minerals by trucks.Munda urged upon the Shah Commission to take note of the plight of the tribals. “The Government should also rebuild the villages which have borne the brunt of illegal mining,” she said.