Children - Terre des Hommes

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population who live in these forests and depend upon them
for their livelihoods and survival, the state government’s rapid
drive for industrialisation through mining has meant they
have been displaced from their land and forests. 207 Estimates
suggest that 55 per cent of the people who have been displaced
for coal mining are STs, and just 25 per cent of these have
been resettled. A report by PANOS looked at the impact of
coal mining on adivasis in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.
Based on oral testimonies from people displaced by coal
mining activities, it reveals how damaging the breakage of
links between the adivasi communities and water, forest and
land resources has been. The population depended on these
forests for their livelihoods, as well as for many products used
in their everyday life. 208
According to the Census, a population of 317,197 were
working in mining and quarrying in the state in 2001. 209
Of these, 2,862 were children aged 14 years and under, and
13,146 were children aged 19 years and under. In 2005,
130,800 people were employed in the formal mining sector in
the state, a drop from 149,100 in 2002. 210
Lack of livelihood opportunities has forced many people to
engage in illegal coal mining in the state. A report released by
the Mines and Geology department in Jharkhand estimates
that 45,000 people in the state are involved in illegal mining,
and that this is leading to a loss of over Rs. 1 billion a year for
the state and coal mining companies. 211 This form of mining
is dangerous and unhealthy for the illegal miners; their life
spans are allegedly cut short by 7 years because of this difficult
work. 212
Some of the country’s highly industrialised cities such as
Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro and Dhanbad are located in
Jharkhand owing to its large mineral resources. The following
is a glance of the state’s achievements in the industrial sector:
Jharkhand is the largest fertilizer manufacturer in India of
its time with production at Sindri, has the first iron and steel
factory at Jamshedpur, has the largest steel plant in Asia—the
Bokaro steel plant, has the biggest explosives factory at Gomia
and the first methane gas well in the country. Minerals ranging
from (state’s rank in the country given in brackets) iron ore
(1), coal (3), copper ore (1), mica (1), bauxite (3), manganese,
limestone, china clay, fire clay, graphite (8), kyanite (1),
chromite (2), asbestos (1), thorium (3), sillimanite, uranium
( Jaduguda mines, Narwa Pahar) (1), gold (Rakha mines) (6),
silver and several other minerals are found in the state. Large
deposits of coal and iron ore support concentration of industry
in centres like Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Ranchi. 213
The Jharia coalfields, in Dhanbad district, are infamous for
their coal fires—underground fires that have been raging here
for decades. The state company Bharat Cooking Coal Limited
(BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, estimates that it
has a total of 67 fires in its concession. 214 The fires have raged
here for nearly 100 years since coal mining first started in the
district. This underground inferno is threatening the homes
and health of millions in the area. The intense heat coming up
from the earth has caused subsidence in homes, and the ground
below one village has already collapsed, engulfing houses and
killing a whole family. This land now used for coal mining was
previously forests and farmlands, and the local population were
farmers. Now, they have been forced to become coal miners,
with many children as well as adults toiling away in the mines
in dangerous conditions. The villages surrounding Jharia
have complained of serious health problems, particularly lung
diseases and respiratory problems caused by air pollution.
Although BCCL provides free healthcare for its employees
and their families, the rest of the population is forced to fend
for itself, living in increasingly dangerous conditions. BCCL is
advising the local population to relocate, but the Rs. 2,000 per
household compensation they are offering is not enough for
them to find a new home. 215
Jaduguda, located in Purbi Singhbhum district, is an
underground uranium mine, which began operations in 1967.
The mine workforce (largely adivasi contractors) works 1,600–
2,000 ft below the surface without any protective clothing. 216
The ore is brought from the mines to the Jaduguda mill in
open trucks. Every day, around 200 trucks, mostly uncovered,
207. Centre for Science and Environment, State of India’s Environment: Mining, 2008, pp. 164.
208. PANOS, ‘Black Green: The impact of mining on the masses’, 2002.
209. Census of India, 2001.
210. Figures accessed on indiastat.com; provided by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
211. Indo Asian News Service, Jharkhand loses over Rs. 1 billion to illegal mining, 18 June 2008.
212. Ibid.
213. http://jharkhandonline.in/profile/economy/
214. Unreported World, India: Children of the Inferno, Series 2009, Episode 7.
215. Ibid.
216. Centre for Science and Environment, State of India’s Environment: Mining Rich Lands, Poor People, 2008, pp. 183.