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The ANTI POSCO STRUGGLE: A Basic Primer Mining Zone Peoples Solidarity Group

The ANTI POSCO STRUGGLE: A Basic Primer Mining Zone Peoples Solidarity Group. Background and Demographics. The POSCO Project: Basic Facts. MZPSG T1. 12 MTPA green field steel plant near Paradip , Jagatsinghpur Investment of USD 12 billion Components:

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The ANTI POSCO STRUGGLE: A Basic Primer Mining Zone Peoples Solidarity Group

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  1. The ANTI POSCO STRUGGLE:A Basic PrimerMining Zone Peoples Solidarity Group

  2. Background and Demographics

  3. The POSCO Project: Basic Facts MZPSG T1 • 12 MTPA green field steel plant near Paradip, Jagatsinghpur • Investment of USD 12 billion • Components: • Steel Plant and Port - Erasama Block, KujangTehsil, 10 kilometers from Paradip port- 7 villages of 3 Gram Panchayats: Nuagaon, Dhinkia and Gadakujang affected • Mining area - Khandadhar Hills, Keonjhar district, north of Orissa, bordering Jharkhand. • Posco and Govt: “2,000 people (400 households) to be relocated” • 2001 census: “30,000 farmers to lose lands and livelihood” • Of the 4,004 acres identified for the project, 2,958.79 acres is technically “forestland”, but people have lived in these lands for generations, hence the above discrepancy. • Main livelihood: Betel vineyards, cashew, paddy, coconut, supari, kewra, pisciculture. • Govt and POSCO claim creation of 48,000 jobs

  4. The Timeline MZPSG T2 • 2005 June: MoU signed • 2007, Apr 9: Govt deploys platoons of paramilitary • 2007, Apr 15: Public hearing for Environment Clearance - 20,000 boycott the inaccessible hearing. • 2007, Apr 18: Hundreds of affected children march in protest • 2007, Nov 29: Goons bomb tents of peaceful protesters, police enter Balitutha, create road blockades • 2007, Dec 5: Police brutalities on protesters at Dhinkia and Nuagaon • 2008, Mar 23: Dhinkia Gram Sabha pass resolutions to protect forests - no to diversion of land. • 2008, Apr 1: Villagers march to Balitutha to “re-capture” barricade. • 2009, Dec 30: Ministry grants final clearance for diversion of forest land for steel plant. • 2010 Jan 19: Collector directs PalliSabhas to obtain approval of local bodies about diversion of lands by Feb 10th • 2010 Jan 26: Hundreds of farmers sit on an indefinite peaceful dharna at Balitutha • 2010 Feb 1: Govt issued notice: “No compensation if they fail to file their claims within fifteen days.” • 2010 Feb 3: 700 participants at NuagaonPalliSabha unanimously disapprove of the move

  5. The MoU MZPSG T3 • Main features: (A) steel manufacturing; (B) infrastructure (Port, Water supply, township, etc) (C) mining of iron ore and other ores. • Land Requirements: 4,000 acres for the Steel Project + 2,000 acres for township + The Company may require additional land for "transportation project", "water project" and any other infrastructure facilities. • Role of the Government: • acquire and transfer all the above-mentioned land, facilitate granting of SEZ status • recommend such areas as free from litigation and encumbrances. • In the event of litigation, Govt will “diligently defend” their recommendations made in favour of the Company. • enable the Company to obtain a "No Objection Certificate" through the State Pollution Control Board in the minimum possible time • Procure all environmental approvals and forest clearances within the minimum possible time from the the Ministry of Environment and Forest, • establish a special "Single Window Clearance Committee" to ensure clearances under State laws from agencies / departments within specified time limits

  6. Project Impacts: The Basis of the Struggle

  7. MZPSG T4 Impact on People • Ownership of land • Total land for steel plant: 4004 acres ++ • 90% of the land is “forest land” under “illegal encroachment” • Traditional rights to land are not recognized, land titles not being distributed despite multiple requests, FRA claims, Land Reforms Act of 1960 etc. • Historical settlements on the land, mass struggle in the 60’s to convert revenue land to forest land for afforestation.

  8. MZPSG T5 Impact on People - 2 • Livelihood issues • Company lists only 450 families on “private land” that will be considered “Project Affected families.” • Local activists (PPSS) claim that 4000 families (2200 people) are *directly dependent* on the land for agriculture based livelihood. • One estimate of additional 20,000 fishworkers and coastal communities affected by port.

  9. MZPSG T6 Impact on People - 3 • Local Economy • Thriving local economy based on betelvine and cashew nut cultivation and prawn farming. • Unique betel vine specific to the area • Generates incomes of Rs. 1 lakh per acre per year and another Rs. 1 lakh of ancillary activity. • Approximately 5000 vines in the three villages, tended to by 10,000 cultivators including outside cultivators. • Provides employment throughout the year for young and old. • Cashew cultivation earns estimated Rs. 20,000 per season per family (Rs. 4000 per bush) • Half the families in the area are involved in prawn cultivation earning app. Rs 7 lakh per acre per family.

  10. MZPSG T7 Impact on People - 4 • Other Impacts • Other crops such as paddy, coconut, supari, kewra are also grown in the area • Extraction of groundwater • MoU permits drawal and use of about 12 thousand to 15 thousand crore liters for construction and operation of the “Overall Project”. Will seriously impact drinking and agricultural water supply of Cuttack and neighbouring four districts. • History of health related problems for locals living close to mines in Orissa

  11. MZPSG T8 Rehabilitation Package • Orissa R&R Policy applicable • Noncommittal about land for land, or providing employment. • Treats most of the betelvine cultivation and affected families as “illegal” • In 2007, district administration stopped disbursement of Posco compensation as it was higher than that mandated by Orissa R&R Policy

  12. MZPSG T9 Rehabilitation Package - 2 • Response to POSCO package • Largely rejected by villagers • In 2007, 75 families of 700 families in Nuagaon village (pro-POSCO) accepted the POSCO compensation, 100s of betelvines destroyed. • In 2010, “only 21 of 2200 families engaged in betelvine cultivation had have applied for compensation by February 10, the deadline set by the district administration of Jagatsinghpur.”

  13. MZPSG T10 Rehabilitation Package -3 • Response to POSCO package • PPSS (Anti-POSCO): Clear anti-displacement stance, low faith in R&R policies, will not accept any package. • UAC (Pro-POSCO): Want higher compensation packages than even 2007 rates. 29 point demand. Betel leaf prices increasing, prosperous villagers.

  14. MZPSG T11 Employment Potential • Company Claims • 48,000 jobs will be created in the region, of which 13,000 will be directly employed by POSCO • 467,000 man-years of employment during the construction phase • Job training provided to locals, local labor during project construction • Response of villagers • Widespread skepticism since such claims have never materialized before • Most locals not qualified for the new jobs created. • “Even if they do manage to get a few of these jobs, they emphasise, the steel project and port will not be able to provide with the kind of secure livelihood they currently enjoy.”

  15. MZPSG T12 Cost Benefit Analysis? • NCAER study • Projects an EIRR of 16.6% • Economic impact is USD 2.5 billion and additional employment of 50,000 person years annually for the next 30 years • Will contribute 11.9% to Orissa’s SDP • No cost of resettlement, rehabilitation taken into account. Only 1 para on R&R in a 67 page report • No environmental costs, costs of diversion of water, of forest land, of loss of livelihood etc have been considered • No contribution to SDP considered from current residents

  16. MZPSG T13 Financial Scam? • Absurdly low royalty for iron ore • Posco pays Orissa Rs 26/- per tonne as royalty, while market rate Rs 2700 to Rs 26000 per tonne. • Subtracting extraction cost and royalty, the company is earning a minimum profit of over Rs. 94,000 crores • Loss of tax revenue due to SEZ status • Estimated loss of Rs. 22,092 crore due to loss of tax revenue • Other losses of revenue • Independent analyses estimates that the govt loses Rs 180 crores in the price of land leased to POSCO, Rs 75 crores/ year in cost of water, Rs 100 crores per year to the agricultural economy, and Rs 2400-3600 crores in taxes over the life time of the project.

  17. MZPSG T14 Other Governance Issues • Role of State govt as facilitator of clearances • Centre assurances to Lee • Fictional environmental impact assessment and socio-economic survey reports • Farcical public hearing • Boycotted by villagers • Held 20 kms away from the affected area • Paramilitary force deployed and several activists arrested just before the public hearing • Each component of the project got a separate clearance w/o taking the entire project into account. • SC appointed experts panel recommended that “diversion of forest land for the plant, without taking a decision for linked uses, particularly the mining project, may not be in order".

  18. MZPSG T15 Other Governance Issues • Issues around mining and extraction of coal • Captive coal mines will be granted to Posco • first time any foreign company is taking control of coal mines. • amount of coal that will be extracted is unknown. • Extracted ore will be exported and other coal will be imported for the steel project

  19. Environmental Impacts MZPSG T16 • Khandadhar range (Bansapal block, 6000 hectares): Mines allotted here - prime forest area- sustain PaudiBhuiyan communities -wide variety of wildlife and flora. • Coastal Erosion and Jatadhari estuary: port will cause damage to coastline and Jatadhari estuarine stretch- construction at the mouth will cause water logging along the length of Jatadhari and eventually destroy it, also increasing the chance of floods. • Water sources: Central Underground Water Board reported, due to mining, underground water level in Joda and Barbil river areas has subsided by 4 meters, • 40% of the region’s 8,000 tube wells no longer function - half of irrigated land can no longer rely on water from the Khandadhar waterfalls - Govt committed 7,000 crore liters of water per year to POSCO for the plant alone • farmers irrigating lands by canals of Taldanda, Machhagaon, Birupa of Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, and Kendrapada district will suffer • Forests: Steel plant and port require diversion of 1,253.255 ha of forest for non-forest use- mean the felling of about 2.8. lakh trees

  20. Environmental Impacts - 2 MZPSG T17 • Olive Ridley turtles and other coastal fauna: Port will affect turtle nesting beaches in Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary • jetties and extensive dredging will impact coastal ecosystem • Dumping of waste: Open field iron mines - landscape covered with huge heaps of soil- Roadsides piled up with slag and other solid waste from sponge iron plants. • Environmental clearance public hearing: 2007, Apr 15: joint public hearing held for port and the steel plant- case filed in the High court for a stay on the project - objections were raised • 2007, Apr 19: EAC dispensed with option of site inspection, took POSCO’s explanations on board and recommended the clearance of port. • 2007, May 15: Port clearance issued • EIA presented by the govt, its critiques: 2007, Apr 27: SC ordered all proposals be scrutinised by SC's Central Empowered Committee • CEC linked plant and port with proposed mines, for which procedural formalities had not been completed. Also recommended independent expert committee and proper ecological risk assessment. • 2008, Aug 8: SC sent back forest clearance to MoEF, directed setting up of expert committee to look at mitigation measures.

  21. Contours of the Political Struggle

  22. The Anti-POSCO StrugglePolitical Antecedents MZPSG T18 • Long History of Unarrested Displacement – Hirakud, Nalco, Rourkela etc. (More than 50% of displaced still unsettled). • Brief flowering between 1967-77. of socialist/ communists Current legislative strength minimal – CPI – 1; CPM – 1 • 1990s re-emergence of armed underground and democratic revolutionary communist left. • 1990s: Also sees the emergence of spontaneous peoples movements: Kashipur, Niyamgiri, Kalinganagar, Lanjigarh,, Gandhamardhan, ANTI-POSCO….

  23. Political Antecedents of the Current Struggle MZPSG T19 • In the mid 1960s a long and hard struggle in the same area for re-forestation and development of infrastructure for betel vine cultivation and minor forest produce. • The re-forestation struggle of the 60s is in the context of the local need to create a natural blockade against hurricanes • Long history of political awareness and strategic understanding of local ecology

  24. Jagatsingpura… locational Issues MZPSG T20 Jagatsinghpur District is adjacent to Bhubaneshwar/ Cuttack and is on a gradient into the Bay with delta formations that constrains access

  25. The Emergence of the Anti POSCO Struggle MZPSG T21 • Each movement has its own ecology of struggle. Kashipur is a rich ran fed fertile area with perrenial water supply that supports a peasantry that grows paddy and harvests minor forest produce. • Kalinganagar is a case where the adivasi first signed off land to the govt but five years later decided that it doesn’t want to give up the land. • Gandhamardan/Niyamgiri: Long history of struggle first against lower Suktel project and then Niyamgiri.

  26. The Formation of PPSS MZPSG T22 • MoU between GoO and POSCO: June2005. • First Trolley Yatra July 2005 • PPSS formation announced on July 2005 • Primary Membership in 11 villages in 3 gram panchayats of Jagatsingpora District. This core membership is from the Steel Plant designated area. Leadership CPI and local youth. Childrens squad and womens organization also established. • United Action Committtee (Pro POSCO – R & R Demand) in one/two villages closer to port area.

  27. PPSS: Political Strategies MZPSG T23 • Primary Strategy combines Dharnas, Yatras, Blockades and Boycotts • 2005-2007: Mass Base Building Work • Two Defining Moments: Police Firing in Kalinganagar in 2007 and Police Takeover of Denkhanal in Nov 2007. • Strategic Decision to Stop All Entry. Based on an analysis of what happened to other movements in Orissa and an understanding of local ecology. • Arrest of Sahoo and 30 others in June 2008

  28. PPSS: Political Strategies (Contd) MZPSG T24 • 2007: Building of Relationship with other Orissa Peoples Movements through the Orissa Jan Adhikar Morcha and Orissa State CPI units • Mass show of solidarity in different parts of Orissa for PPSS/Anti POSCO struggle in Dec 2007. Road Bloackades in different parts of Orissa, Sit ins and Dharnas in other parts • Local CPI in full support. National CPI ambiguous, though Bardhan did address a anti POSCO rally in 2007

  29. PPSS Political Strategies (Contd) MZPSG T25 • State/POSCO-- PPSS Skirmishes have strengthened PPSS (neo liberal context) • Boycotts of Survey teams and alternative Peoples Surveys • Boycott of Public Govt Hearings; Self-Organized Public Hearings and forest land claims filings • OVERALL MOBILIZATION USES MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CONTRADICTIONS: (a) local economy – meen, paan, daan, (b) forest land (Minor Forest Produce – Peoples Control control granted byFRA) (c) Land claims – under SchdVand VI of constitution) (d) terms of MoU – false claims on many levels)

  30. Current Status MZPSG T26 • Sahoo Released in Aug 2009 • Undertakes padyatra to strengthen all Orissa resolve • High Degree of threat to Sahoo and other leadership is perceived • Indefinite Dharna on at Balitutha • UAC goes against POSCO and has now re-entered into negotiations • Reported Break in UAC villages and new entry of PPSS into the JatadhariMuhana area

  31. Building a US/Intl Campaign MZPSG T27 BIG PICTURE PROJECT Mining Zone as Site of Struggle. Hence the Mining Zone Peoples Solidarity Group TWO POINTS OF DEPARTURE Indian MNCs – Tata’s as a focus (Research Plan and Data Center this summer) Anti-POSCO as Key Struggle – This May Shift (for instance if a MNC moves in Ch’garh or Vedanta heats up again)

  32. Building a US/Intl Campaign MZPSG T28 Potential Dimensions of Organizing in the US(Anti POSCO Struggle) • POSCO Investors (from Warren Buffet to Canadian Pension Plan) • Korean-American Community as Leverage for Pressure on Seoul • Relationships with Korean Unions/Social Justice Groups • UN and Other Agencies – Mining/Land Struggles and Indigenous Peoples Rights • Potential Legal Frameworks that maybe useful

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