dear achyut: it would be useful to send right away, even before the public hearing tomorrow, a letter to the Ministry of Env and Forests, and to the Expert Appraisal Committee (Mining) alerting them that the public hearing to be held tomorrow has not followed the procedure.
File RTIs to find out if the various offices that ought to display copies of the EIA report, actually received the EIA reports, and if so the date of receipt, and proof of receipt. (Inward register at the Tapal section, for instance). May also be worthwhile to send copies of the complaint letters to the Mr. J.C. Kala, Acting Chair, National Environmental Appellate Authority. This is merely to build the paperwork for any future legal challenge. ciao, nity On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 8:24 PM, achyutdas <achyut...@agragamee.org> wrote: > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* ACHYUT DAS [mailto:achyut...@gmail.com] > *Sent:* 05 October 2010 19:44 > *To:* kbkrooundtable; focusorissa; oregs-watch; > waterrightsori...@googlegroups.com; janatavikas manch; > orissapolit...@yahoogroups.com > *Cc:* achyut das > *Subject:* Public Hearing on proposed Manganese Mining in Kashipur dated > 6th Oct > > > > Dear Friends, > > The preparation is underway for a Public Hearing on 6th October, 2010 at > Kalakani Village of Kashipur Block bring organised by Orissa Pollution > Control Board in the context of proposed Manganese Mining. Apparently,the > local officials have only given notices to a few Sarpanches with strict > instructions not to share with any one but to get people who will say yes to > the mining. No notices have been displayed in Block or Tehsil Office. Nobody > has seen the notification about the Public Hearing in any of the local > newspapers. It is absolutely a hush-hush affair. Many were under the > impression that the proposed Public Hearing would facilitate Bauxite mining > in Sasubahu Mali in favour of Vedanta (VAL). However, the preliminary report > indicates that 47 villages in 7 Panchayats will be affected by this venture > located in both 5kms to 10kms Buffer Zone. In this case, the mining owner > is one Sri Manoranjan Das of Bhubaneswar. > > The credibility of the Orissa Pollution Control Board has been always in > question and has always bent backwards to help the corporates in every > sphere. The overdrive for this Manganese mining is a clear indication. The > question comes who is this Manoranjan Das and why 47 villages? The area is > covering an area of 26.636 Ha at village Khurigaon. The people of Kashipur > especially the people who are going to be affected have a right to know the > details of this project. I am afraid the local officials have not played a > fair role in the entire exercise. > > The history of the such Public Hearings shows that the Administration > including OPCB, the local power elite and the hired goons always join hands > to suppress the genuine people's voice.Barring a few cases, the outcome of > the Public Hearings in Orissa organised by OPCB is always known even before > the event is organised.Isn't it? The Consent is always easily manufactured. > > Let us wait and see how things are coming about and whether the local > administration and the OPCB are for or against the local people. > > -- > Achyut Das > Director > Agragamee > Kashipur -765015 > Rayagada Orissa > India > Phone: 06865 285149/0674 2551123 > Fax: 0674 2551130 > e-mail: achyut...@agragamee.org/agraga...@satyam.net.in > Blog:http://friendsofkashipur.blogspot.com > website:www.agragamee.org > -- Please note my new office address: H31/39, Ashtalakshmi Gardens, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090
