Children - Terre des Hommes

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154 are in Maharashtra (making it the ninth largest mining
state). 51 While the state is among the top 10 contributors to
the total mineral value of the country, the revenue collected by
Maharashtra from the industry in the form of royalty, accounts
for only 1 per cent of the total revenue receipts of the state. 52
Unsafe working conditions at stone quarries (Photo September 2009)
workers (down from 35,900 in 2004). 48 The 2001 Census
indicated that there were a total of 168,112 main and marginal
workers in the mining and quarrying sector. 49
Maharashtra was the largest producer of corundum in 2007-
08. The state is also the second largest producer of manganese
ore after Orissa. 50 Other major minerals include limestone,
bauxite, manganese ore, silica sand and laterite. Undersea oil
deposits have also been found off the shores of Mumbai. The
Indian mining industry is characterised by a large number
of small operational mines. Out of 2,954 reporting mines,
Sand mining and stone quarrying have been the focal points
of Maharashtra’s highly unorganised mining sector. These
mines have taken a toll on the environment, contributing to
pollution, water shortages and even failed crops. The stone
quarrying industry alone, hires about 4–5 million workers in
the state. 53 Being unorganised, and mostly illegal, it offers no
special legal provisions to protect the interests of the workers,
who live in dire conditions, with no basic amenities such as
drinking water, electricity or health services.
In Pune’s Wagholi village, with the help of Santulan, an nongovernmental
organisation (NGO), the mine workers had to
actually take legal action against the government, under the
Maharashtra Mining Development Fund resolution of 2002,
for a provision as simple as drinking water. 54
It is difficult to get an estimate of how many children work
in the mines in Maharashtra. According to the Census 2001,
there were 2,095 children aged between 5 and 14 years, and
Pune district: Key facts
Total population: 7,232,555 (Census 2001)
Population (0–14 years): 2,176,374 (Census 2001)
Literacy rate:
Total 80.45 per cent
Male 88.34 per cent
Female 71.89 per cent (Census 2001)
Percentage of out-of-school children(6–14 years): 0.9 per cent (ASER 2008)
Percentage of children enrolled in anganwadi centre (AWC)
or pre-school (3–4 years): 89.3 per cent (ASER 2008)
Number of child labour (5–14 years): 35,352 (Census 2001)
Under five mortality rate (ranking):
4 out of 593 districts surveyed
(Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh)
48. Data accessed on indiastat.com; compiled from statistics released by the Ministry for Labour and Employment, Government of India. Selected State-wise
Average Daily Employment and Number of Reporting Mines in India. (2002–05).
49. Census of India, 2001.
50. Ministry of Mines, Annual Report 2008-09. pp. 21.
51. Ibid, pp. 10.
52. MLPC, Organising the Unorganised, Bahar Dutt, 2005; Centre for Science and Environment, Rich Lands, Poor People, 2008. pp. 202.
53. Ibid.
54. Kulkarni, Madhura. Stone Quarry Workers win the battle for Right to Drinking Water. Oxfam, Australia. http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/
cr/res03070701.pdf.