Sand Mining Amplify Resistance to Resource Appropriation
An attempt through Padayatra,
ActionAid, 2012 March
The Background of the Report –
The Prakritik Sansadhan Adhikar Padayatra (natural Resource Rights Foot March) was undertaken
from 30th January (Martyr’s Day) to 25th February 2012 to highlight the issue of natural resources
threatening the very survival of vulnerable communities, particularly tribals, in India. This Padayatra is
an inalienable part of the tribal struggle for implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and
Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, and homogeneously vital for other natural
resource-based groups and also for the larger civil society. We interacted with tribal, Particular
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), de-notified tribes, Dalits, Muslims, fishing community (inland),
weavers, women’s groups, migrant labourers, panchayat representatives and other backward
communities.
Water Scarcity for the People but Plenty for Industries (page 15 – 16)
Even though it was only February most of the streams and small rivers alongside our route right from
Maharashtra till the hilly region of Rajasthan were found to be dry. Most big rivers had very little water
and huge JCBs and large number of trucks were standing inside the rivers to mine sand. In some
places, because of sand mining, rivers have been split into small water-logged patches.
Women have to walk for three to five kilometres to get drinking water. As summer approaches the
situation will worsen. Water was visible in the Narmada Dam area and all the canals of Narmada,
Mahi and Jobat.
Water is life and water is sacred to the indigenous people. It is fundamental to their spiritual and
cultural lives and practices. Water in India is no more considered as a natural resource to be freely
available to the people. Every step has been taken to privatise this resource and make it a commodity
to gain profit. There is pressure on all rivers to exploit the water for industrial purpose rather than
giving thrust to agriculture and irrigation. The struggle for water for agriculture by the farmers in the
country is spreading all over.
Hills and mountains are the prime source of all water bodies. It may be streams, river or rivulets; all
sources come from mountains that have the capacity of holding rainwater. But mining operations
destroy water retention capacity and pollute whatever water is available for use. Massive soil erosion
due to deforestation decreases ground water level and create flash floods in areas where people have
never experienced floods.
Packaged drinking water in the form of bottles or polythene pouches is available in remote villages
now. This clearly indicates that people are losing their right over water as a free natural resource and
depend on paid water. The time is not far when people will be hesitant to ask for a glass of water. Few
examples of such natural water bodies drying up were visible on our way such as Hatini river in
Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh, Makrai river of Tapi district in Gujarat and Mahi and Jakham
rivers in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan.
Sand and Stone Mining
The site of sand and stone mining reminded us of the death of 34-year-old, Swami Nigamananda
Saraswati who died after fasting for 115 days in Haridwar. The Swami, a member of Matri Sadan,
started fasting on February 19th 2011 to protest against sand and stone mining, which was for the last
12 years polluting the Ganga. According to Matri Sadan sources, Himalaya Stone Crusher has been
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destroying the bed of the Holy Ganga especially at the Kumbh Mela area of Haridwar for the last 10
years through rampant mining of stone and sand.
This is not only happening to the Ganga, but also to Chandpur Nala of Alirajpura, Madhya Pradesh.
Rampant sand mining was also seen in Chota Udaipur’s River Barson. A large quantity of sand gets
transported to Mumbai, not only for construction work in the metro but also for transportation to
foreign countries.
Around 400 trucks carry 12 to 20 tonnes of sand bags (cleaned of stones and other waste material)
from Chandpur Nala to Mumbai every day. Local leaders mentioned that such cleaned sand goes to
foreign countries by ship. Mining continues round the year in this particular place. The Zilla Parishad
has issued licences and the quotations depend upon the quality of sand for a particular patch
measured in feet. Illegal mining is already going on in this belt and people are afraid of raising their
voice against anti-social elements. Chandpur Nala was a big river and water was available in it round
the year but now it is nearly dry and water is getting stagnated in patches.
As we entered Dungarpur, we found a large number of tractors filling sand from Jakham river bed in
Nitha Uoa, gram panchayat. Each day about five to eight quintals of sand is mined for construction
activities. Close to Sukha Padar village, Ashpur gram panchayat about 10 to 15 quintal of sand is dug
out with the help of JCBs from the Badawali and Kharka River. Sand from these areas is sent to
Udaipur and nearby cities for facilitating all kinds of construction work.
Sand is being lifted by outside contractors ruthlessly. A lot of illegal mining is also going on as often
people do not renew the licence or dig in areas they have no right to. Locals keep quiet because they
are afraid of these powerful contractors. In some places, people get wage labour too. Except for the
monsoon months when heavy rain starts, sand mining continues throughout the year. In each place,
we started discussions about sand mining and its impact on the local people, economy and overall
impact on ecology.
River bed sand plays an important role in sustaining the survival of the most marginalised
communities. Most often, landless people and single women cultivate summer crops like water melon,
cucumber, pumpkin and a variety of summer vegetables on the river beds.
On top of the sand layer, fertile soil gets deposited after rain water runs off and the sand retains water
underneath to help the crop grow. People rarely use fertiliser or pesticide because the land happens
to be fertile naturally. Wherever sand mining is going on people are not able to cultivate anything. In
post-rain period, inland fishing used to be another activity by fisher folk and there were varieties of
small fish in the river. But now, that is also on the verge of extinction as due to movement of vehicles
the nature of the terrain has changed and the declining water table does not allow fish production.
About two generations back, the water table was so high that there were 15 to 20 feet deep ponds,
locally known as Dabri, created inside the river during summer and the community drew water from
these for all their requirements. Both children and adults used to swim in it. Inside the river, in patches
where there was no flowing water, people used to dig the sand with their hands to make a small pit
and in minutes it used to be filled with clean drinking water. Now that too has completely disappeared.
During rainy season water runs off the stone bed of the river in the absence of sand to retain water.
This is undercutting and collapsing river banks. There is loss of adjacent land and/or structures, and
upstream erosion because of an increase in channel slope and changes in flow velocity. Downstream
erosion is happening due to increased carrying capacity of the stream, downstream changes in
patterns of deposition and changes in channel bed and habitat type.
Rampant mining is degrading water quality of rivers. Naturally growing vegetation, on the banks of the
river, responsible for maintenance of ecology is about to be extinct.
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River bank erosion due to dams affects food production and food
security of people in India
A case study from West Bengal, India.
River bank erosion is a regular phenomena and has impact on people living on river banks.
Sometimes the erosion washes away large patch of agricultural land and creates new land
on other side of the river. People lose their land on one side while they get limited access to
the new land created for agriculture. It has direct impact on their agricultural production
and on their food security.
The intensity of river erosion has increased after Farraka dam build on Ganga river in India.
People are now facing unexpected problems due this frequent erosion. They have to shift
their house more than 5/6 times over last 15 years. They have lost their fertile agriculture
land in the river. They have lost their belongings and houses in the erosion. They have
faced serious food shortage in their house.
But despite of all those problems, river bank erosion is not considered as a natural disaster
and no assistance given to the
affected families. Two cases of river
erosion and impacts on family food
production and food security from
India are given below.
Sakila Bibi (45)
Village- Majhiasaran,
G.P- Bangitola,
Block- Kaliachak,
District- Malda, West Bengal
The Ganga, which is the lifeline of India, originates from the Gangotri glacier in the
Himalayas and covers a distance of 2525km before it flows into the Bay of Bengal. The
Ganga enters West Bengal in its third or lower phase, before travelling through the region
and falling into the sea. Of its total course-length of 2500km, however, the river Ganga has
limited length in West Bengal, with a bank line of only 76km on its left bank in Malda
district.
Sakila Bibi is resident of Majhiasaran Village in Malda District.There are 5 members in her
family- her husband, 2 daughters and one son. She is residing in the current place for last
14 years. In 1998 her house and land have gone under River Ganga due to river bank
erosion and they have come to the road to reside here. Majhia Saran comprises of two
words and in Bengali language its meaning is Majhia means middle and Saran means Road
and the place they are residing is in middle of the road so they named their habitat as
Majhia Saran. Her father in law died before 7-8 years and his mother in law died before 17
years. Previously her in-laws were resided at Kakri Badha Jhabua GP which have 21 wards
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and the biggest Gram Panchayat in Malda District. At that time the name their village was
Kamaluddin pur. The previous village was 7 km distance from this present place River Ganga
was 4-5 km away from their old house at Kamaluddinpur. At the beginning the impact of
River bank erosion was very slow and negligible. In 1998 all of sudden their house and
mango orchard and agriculture field had eroded by River Ganga and all of her belongings
got destroyed. She remembered that in 1971 and 1986 there was severe floods on River
Ganga, However the flood in the year 1998 had severe impact on her village and it eroded
most of the lands. They are near the No.1 bond when their house has gone into the River.
Previously the water from Farakka was regulated properly, so the rate of erosion was not so
severe. Now the Majhiasaran Village is near Bond no. 8 which was constructed in the year
1999. In 1998 when their village had gone under water, they are only able to save their live
and for next two months they were not able to get any food and shelter. They were not able
to rescue anything from their house and all had gone into the River Ganga.
Then they come to the Bond No. 7 and stayed on a temporary house made by tarpaulin
provided by Government. Her husband was studying in
the school till 10th class and then discontinues helping his
father to maintain the house and started to work as a
labour. Now also he is continuing with work as labour
and getting 100-150 rupees per day. He is also getting
job under MGNREGA scheme and getting Rs 110 as
wage, but he is not getting work all the time. They had
come to this place in the year 2000 with other 240
families. When they come to this place the people from
nearest villages like Mahadevpur and Shibutola had
raised their objection and there were conflict of interest
between the communities, however finally these people
were able to stay there on government land and till date
they are not able to get any rehabilitation by the
Government and continued to stay on the road. Arsenic
contamination in the groundwater is more acute in this
area which is causing liver problem, skin problem and
cancer in this area. They are not getting any government facilities to deal with such issue as
they are not treated as a revenue village. They are getting the facilities under Public
Distribution Scheme by the Government; however it is not sufficient for him to maintain a
dignified life which they have used to live when they have their own land and mango
orchard. Her eldest daughter is studying in class 9 and the other one is not going to school.
Her husband is not getting work throughout the month and on those days they are
suffering. She is helpinh him by making bidi, which is also not a profit making work for
them.
Is bidi making your sole source of income? He is a wage labourer and most of the time not
getting any work and I do this bidi making on part time basis. Even both of us do this bidi
making we would not survive. He may need to migrate, there is no job throughout the year
in the area to sustain our family.
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They are only using the water from River Ganga for bathing and washing purpose, they are
also getting dry grass for fuel purpose. On the question of whether they getting employment
in earthwork for construction of bond, she stated that the people from outside have
engaged in the work as they are taking less wage for the work. We are not getting any work
there. They are also not able to get residence certificate as it required for many official
purpose. She stated that when there is a question of arranging
meals for my family we are no luxury for amusement, there is no
house of my own and also I have no permanent source of livelihood
option.
Now you see there is nothing between us and the Ganga that can
resist us from sweeping away rest of our belonging, it’s now time
for this yard and next these rooms, or maybe she will sweep away
everything in the next monsoon and you would not see us here. We
are completely at her mercy. I cannot think of the next monsoon.
This is for the first time I witnessed an altogether different Ganga
and since then I have not come out of the trauma – every night I
go to sleep with children with dread fear – would Ganga devour us
in the night, we may not see the sun again.
Why don’t you shift and resettle in a safe place?
Relocate in a safe place? You can see the entire village is surviving at the mercy of Ganga.
To where can we shift? There is not a single piece of land in the whole area, and none of us
has enough money to buy a ‘safe’ land and shift. We don’t know what’s there in our fate. I
am tired of thinking of a safe future. You know we keep all our valuable belongings in
other’s house. One day Ganga either will devour us or make us homeless. Would
government ever think of us? Are not we also human being? She was on the verge of
erupting and crying. She took time to gather herself.
We don’t know for certain, but we are doing it. May be we will sell them or what else we can
do? But tell us can you do anything for us? Can you tell what should we do so that
government would bother for our loss and for our impending plight? The entire village is
surviving on their own and at the mercy of Ganga. Nobody knows what to do or what they
will do if Ganga ceases to mercy them in the coming days. Theirs is the life of would-be
homeless people.
Case study: 2
Sleepless Nights of Rabadi Devi
Rabadi Devi
Age: 48 Years
Village: Pakariya Purwa (Jungle No. 10)
Gram Panchayat: Gum
Block: Phul Behar
Sub-Division: Nighasan
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District: Lakhimpur Kheri
District Kheri of Lucknow division in Uttar Pradesh is famous as Lakhimpur Kheri. It is
located along with the international border between India and Nepal. The district is
surrounded by Nepal in north and Hardoi, Behraich, Shahjahanpur & Pilibhit districts in
south, east and west respectively. The international boundary in this district is covered
under several treaties regarding water distribution of River Sharada known as Mahakali River
in Nepal and routine transportation over the border area into both countries.
Rabadi Devi of Pakariya village (Jungle No. 10) of Gum Panchayat is a widow of late Mohan
Rajbhar. She is a landless woman. She is living with five daughters and two sons. Out of her
five daughters two have been married. When our field investigator Mr. Bikram asked to
Rabadi Devi to share her story, Rabadi’s eyes became full of tears. After large scale
devastation and displacement Rabadi’s life became full of sorrow. Her story spells about
agricultural loss and indebtedness for agriculture production on other’s land.
Before the year 2009 the family of Rabadi’s was a happy family of the village. She was a
part of a joint family headed by in-laws late Mr. Rajdev Rajbhar. Rajdev had three sons who
were depending on their own agricultural land. Size of their land was 3 acre. They were
producing and marketing vegetables and rice.
Thus they were contributing to the income of
their family. But this supporting chain was
disturbed in year 2003 when Rajdev died in age
of 65 years. After death of Rajdev, his three sons
Ramadhar, Chaturi and Mohan (Rabadi’s
husband) engaged in family dispute which
resulted partition in family. Partition reflected into
agricultural field. After division every son got one
acre agriculture land for agriculture.
It is obvious that even after division the family of three brothers were living an average life
based on agriculture produces. But in 2009 Rabadi’s life again trapped into trouble. The year
2009 witnessed two incidences in Rabadi’s life. One was sudden flood and erosion. And
second was death of Mohan due to illness. In 2009 when Rabadi’s village flooded, her
husband became ill. He was used to stay in the field situated on the bank of river. Rabadi
says that it was a dark night when her husband suddenly came from field. He was severely
ill. Just after a week there was a flood which drowned Mohan’s land. That time Mohan was
in acquit need of medical treatment. In the course to receive treatment and his wife kept
her jewellery to the local banker for money. But after making all efforts and sacrifices Mohan
could not saved.
Death of Mohan and drowning of agriculture land in the river bank erosion were happened
in the same year. It brought Rabadi’s family in a pathetic condition. Rabadi was in difficult
situation. She was worrying about marriage of her daughters. After two years of passing
away of her husband Mohan, Rabadi was seeking to take debt from the local banker for
marriage of her daughters. But it was not so easy to take debt. In fact, banks generally do
not entertain a landless applicant for bank credit. On the other hand the local bankers
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always try to take benefits from the persons like Rabadi. They provide debt but exploit a
huge amount of interest. In case of Rabari a local banker gave debt to Rabadi at a rate of
10 per cent interest on per one hundred rupees. Rabadi got debt from the local banker
because she was working on landlord’s agriculture field on Bantai. In case of Bantai there is
guaranty that half of the crop will be under possession of the person who performs his/her
duty on the field and is in agreement with the landlord. Though, Rabadi was working on a
big landlord’s agriculture field on Bantai, so the banker gave her loan of Rs. 40000. The
bankers provide Rs. 40000 as loan against availability of one acre harvesting. The loan is
supposed to return in form of agricultural produces. In Rabadi’s case, she had to return the
amount of debt in form of pointed gourd.
The people like Rabadi were earlier also used to take loan from a local banker to invest in
vegetable production and other work of the family. But it was the time when their land was
not drowned in the river erosion. And possibility of returning loan was easy. But after
drowning the agriculture field in erosion it became a difficult task. However it was not
impossible until another problem do not comes on this way.
In the great time of crisis Rabari was working on big landholder’s land with her daughters
and sons. She had to return a sum of Rs. 40000 of banker’s loan, which was taken to
arrange marriage of her daughter Arti Devi. But another flood devastated the crops which
were harvested by Rabadi’s family on Bantai. All the
hope has come to an end. This flood drowned not only
vegetable crops but also the dream to become liberate
from the cycle of debt and exploitation. It was happened
on 19th June 2013. On the other hand the money lender
started to build pressure on Rabadi’s family to return the
sum of loan. Rabadi is in high pressure of money lender.
She says that Raat Mein Nind Nahin Aati Hai (I do not have a sleep in night). At present
where Rabadi live with her children is also in catchment area of flood and erosion. Her
house is hardy 500 meters from river’s bank in south.
The case of Rabadi Devi tells us about the impact of flood and river erosion that how a
family reached on the bank of a marginal survival. This case appeals to the concerned
authority, institutions and organizations to think over it.
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