Frontline | ASHA KRISHNAKUMAR | recently in Visakhapatnam district | Volume 21 – Issue 19, Sept. 11 – 24, 2004

“ONE day in 1987 a few men in half pants, wielding chisels and hammers and tapes and magnifying glasses, descended on our village. Then came the drilling machines. The men then started to dig wells. Nobody told us who they were or why they had come. Soon revenue officials descended on our hamlet and asked us to vacate. They offered Rs.5,000 a family. More men came, tractors started leaving loads of stones everywhere. We were not told anything. We heard that a road was to be laid, and soon enough work began,” recounts S. Pollanna, headman of Nimalapadu, a tribal village in Visakhapatnam’s Paderu panchayat in Ananthagiri mandal. (more…)

Down to Earth | Sep 15, 2004

The milestone read Nimalapedu 0. We had travelled through the forest regions of Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, to this tribal village, which we knew had stoutly resisted and tamed the might of the Birlas when the latter was given a lease to mine calcite in their backyard. This was the village whose battle led, in 1997, to a historic judgement of the Supreme Court that put a stop to the greed of private companies, eager to get their hands on a lease for land in tribal areas to mine or set up a factory. Named after the dynamic tribal rights organisation that took the case to the high court and thence to the Supreme Court on behalf of the villagers — Samata — the judgement today is the biggest thorn in the sides of those who have a vested interest in inviting private and foreign mining companies into such areas. (more…)

The Hindu | January 7, 2004

GOOD GOVERNANCE sounds like another new fancy project of the day. The fundamental duty of any government was to do good. It is unfortunate that we have to keep reminding our political parties of their duty and the rare opportunity we get is during elections. The most important question we need to ask is `good governance for whom?’ Elections are a crucial democratic space when people should demand not just good governance but socially just good governance and continue challenging the government the next five years as they always suffer from amnesia.

K. Bhanumathi
Social activist

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The Financial Express | Dilip Bisoi | Dec 31, 2003

BHUBANESWAR, DEC 30: The Orissa government has cleared the path for the location of private sector projects in scheduled areas of the state. The state government has formulated a policy for grant of mining lease and transfer of land in Schedule Areas for commercial projects.

There was confusion over the grant of mining leases and transfer of lands in the scheduled areas following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Samata Vs Andhra Pradesh case. However, the state has made an attempt through the policy to strike a balance between development needs and the interest of the tribals. (more…)

Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications, Saturday, Sep 20, 2003

EVEN as the captains of the Indian industry gathered here today to set off a major corporate green initiative, representatives of some non-governmental organisations and people’s movements termed the effort as `Greenwashing Corporates Crimes’, criticising the corporate world for causing damage to environment.

Led by Samata, an NGO working in tribal areas in the north-coastal Andhra Pradesh, the protestors alleged that the corporates were shedding “crocodile tears”. (more…)

The Environment in the News | Tuesday, 16 September 2003

Tick-Tock Of Doom

Radioactive spectres haunt Andhra as Nagarjuna Sagar awaits a uranium mine nearby

S. ANAND, NITIN A. GOKHALE

At the end of the nuclear dream may lie the terrible reality of human and environmental waste. As the department of atomic energy (dae) desperately digs for new sources of natural uranium in Andhra Pradesh, the costs could be enormous. Having left a trail of deformed children and unexplained deaths of miners in Jaduguda, Jharkhand, the nuclear establishment is all set to spread the radioactive threat

Radio Red to hundreds of villages in the southern state. That is the fear which currently stalks anti-nuclear and health activists. They even warn against the impact on the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. (more…)

The Hunger Project, August 2003

By John Coonrod and Supriya Banavalikar

We’re currently on a trip to 7 states of India, seeing the progress in The Hunger Project’s campaign to empower grassroots women leaders to be key change agents for the end of hunger.

One of the top priorities for this trip has been the first pilot test of the new “Ending Hunger in India” Briefing – a workshop designed to call forth a cadre of influential leadership who understand and advocate The Hunger Project’s analysis and strategy. The workshop was held at our national office in New Delhi on India’s independence day – August 15th – with 18 representatives from diverse organizations. At the conclusion of the workshop, a flag-hoisting ceremony was held on the roof of The Hunger Project office led by 96-year-old General Dubey and 4-year old Aditi – representing a century of India. (more…)

TIMES NEWS NETWORK | AUGUST 17, 2003

HYDERABAD: The proposed uranium mining project in Nalgonda district has attracted the attention of the major political parties with Congress, MIM, CPI and CPM demanding that the government should put the project on hold until a consensus is reached on the utility and safety of the project.

This opinion emerged at a round table on ‘Dangers of the proposed uranium mining project’ organised by the Forum for Utilisation of Godavari Waters on Saturday. “It is unfortunate that the self proclaimed environmentalist chief minister has chosen to remain silent on uranium mining despite several apprehensions being raised about the project,” said APCC president D Srinivas, while criticising the state government’s “indifferent” attitude on the issue. (more…)

The Times of India, August 12, 2003

HYDERABAD: The meeting held to sort out the differences of opinion between the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) and various NGOs on the risk involved in uranium mining in Nalgonda district witnessed heated debate, with both sides unwilling to give the other an inch.

The meeting was held at the behest of the UCIL on the proposed Lambapur-Peddagattu uranium mining plant in Nalgonda district. (more…)

The Hindu, 14th July 2003