Our friend filmmaker Vinod Raja (who made an earlier appearance on Keywords) has sent me this urgent petition on behalf of indigenous people in Orissa whose land is being appropriated by international mining companies. Below is the cover letter and information about where to fax the petition. The petition itself can be found here.
{Orissa, indigenous rights, Kashipur, petition}
**Stop Utkal Alumina. Stop Birlas, Alcan From Looting Orissa’s Natural Wealth.
Fraudulent public hearing being staged on October 17th to push anti-people mining project through…The local people of Kashipur have resisted the intrusion of multinational mining corporations for the last thirteen years. They have resisted through peaceful and democratic means, withstanding lathi charge, jailings, beatings, and police firings. But the multinational corporates and their local agents in the administration are trying to proceed by any hook and crook available, undermining all democratic processes.
Public Hearing is Fraud because:
Send faxes to oppose this fraud of public process highlighting the fundamental illegality of the project (sample fax letter included below).
Project is Illegal because:
• Land acquisition from local people has proceeded through manipulation, intimidation and coercion
• Project is coming up on 5th Schedule lands where a constitutional guarantee against diversion of tribal land to non-tribals applies.
• Affected Gram Sabha’s have submitted resolutions in opposition to the project in 1995 and again in 2000
• Environmental Clearances were given in 1995 and lapsed in 2000. Any work at the site from 2000 till today is illegal because it was carried out without Environmental Clearance.
• How can there be a public hearing for “expansion” of a project, when the original Environmental Clearances of the project lapsed five years ago!
Fax to:
1. Chairman, Orissa State Pollution Control Board. Fax: 0674-2562822 and 0674-2560955
2. Send a copy to the Chief Minister, Orissa. Fax: 0674-2535100 ([email protected])
3. Send a copy to Minister, MoEF, Delhi. Fax: 011 24362222 ([email protected])
Please let us know by phone or email what action you have taken.
In struggle –
Kashipur Solidarity Group
kashipursolidarityindelhi [at] yahoo [dot] com
