As it so very often happens, during herd like oppositions,the wood is often missed for the trees. There is indeed a siege around miningcompanies in a pincer like movement, which is waiting for the final moment ofsupreme elation when not mining, but mining companies are forced to go slow,then very slow and finally look at downsising or even closing. However behindthe blood curling screams of calling the “mining lobby” pimps, prostitutes,smugglers, mafia and rapists, there are saner minds at work.
Away from the maidans in Panjim or in wi-fi enabled spacesof rhetoric, often without reason, reason still has a chance. And this “lobby”is not the Goa government nor the central government. They are the sameinstitutions that the anti-mining lobby holds sacrosanct “ The courts and theCentral Empowered Committee of the centre, constituted after the apex courtsintervention. This CEC went into a detailed study of buffer zones for allwildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the country and in a report datedSeptember 20, submitted specifics. The Goan reported this. The high point ofthis study was a far more realistic appreciation of the fact that humanhabitation existed around and in many forest areas. Secondly there are naturalboundaries like culverts, canals creating a natural buffer zone and importantlyin Goa, it makes it impossible to have 10 kilometre buffer zones which wouldencompass most major towns. In the categorisation which was done (see The Goandated September 29 as well as our frontpage report in this edition) thenational parks and wild life sanctuaries in Goa fall in three categories wherethe zones are of 100 meters, 500 meters and one kilometer respectively. Thiswas done taking all factors into account in a scientific manner. This is farfar removed from shrill ten kilometre or nothing refrain of wild life lovers,mature lovers, forest lovers. Are they any human being lovers? Will the sameshrill voices make the same kind of noise if their homes and colonial old stylebungalows fall in a buffer zone and asked to be brought down. Do remember thatthe first outcry against the regional plan was against widening of roads, whichwould destroy road side homes. While the agitation was correct, the samesensitivities are not displayed when it comes to buffer zones. Firstly thevillages don’t matter and then it helps in controlling the “mining lobby”-double whammy.
The CEC report and the Supreme Courts initial observationson September 21 that it is inclined to accept the CEC recommendations is anindication that institutions still workand the same institutions that the anti- mining lobby tom tom also have thecapacity to adjudicate realistically without any agenda. However when that happens what does thislobby and their blind flowers in the media do. They look the other way. Itisn’t our business to comment on the coverage of other newspapers but see thisin the context of orchestrated blankingout of reportage because this truthisn’t palpable to the stop all mining bandwagon.
Anyway, work is in progress. The state government is givingfinishing touches to its buffer zone recommendations keeping the CECrecommendations as a base. Once these are finalised , one of the biggestgrounds on which mining is sight to be stopped will slip.
It’s a long long way ahead. And this jolt will in alllikelihood push the non-state and fly by night players out of the reach oftraditional mining. Each of the commissions and inquiries should be allowed todo its part and in doing so they must be given a crack at what the realitiesare. Even though these committees have been formed in the aftermath of the Shahcommission they will go into far greater detailing. Submissions will be called,more records are going to be scrutinized and the criminal negligence as well aspartnership with those who stole ore will be etched out. This process isimportant and should be conducted in a clinical unemotional manner withoutletting anyone dictate the agenda.
These institutions should step back equally from alllobbies, especially the ‘know all’ anti all mining lobby and do independentinvestigations towards punishing the guilty to pave the way for calibrated andcontinued sustainable mining.
