Sandur residents trade health for jobs as rehab funds gather mining dust

People of Sandur, a mineral-rich taluk in Ballari district, are the worst affected in the state, both in terms of finance and health due to unabated mining. Yet, a majority of the population is forced to demand the continuation of mining in the region.

The continued dependence of Sandur’s people on mining, which they once opposed vehemently, is because funds meant to improve their living conditions, ensure sustainable livelihoods, and reclamation of the ecosystem, have been grossly underutilised.

Rehabilitation work was supposed to be carried out under two heads: District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) funds and Comprehensive Environment Plan for the Mining Impact Zones (CEPMIZ) funds under the Reclamation & Rehabilitation (R&R) plans. A portion of the royalty and taxes collected through the sales of iron ore and minerals becomes the principal amount for the district administration to take up long-term sustainable projects for the affected people of mining areas.

A whopping Rs 22,000 crore has now been collected. This could not be put to use for various reasons. The state government is awaiting Supreme Court orders on its action plan to utilise the funds. In a recent affidavit filed on December 10, 2020, the state government prayed for a direction to appoint a retired Supreme Court judge to head the Overseeing Committee on the implementation of the restoration scheme.

Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the Ballari DMF funds account had Rs 1,482 crore of which only Rs 236.40 crore has been utilised till March 31,2020. Of the total amount, Rs 868.13 crore has been allocated for high priority sector including health, environment and skill development.

However, till March 2020, the district administration had utilised only Rs 127.79 crore. Surprisingly, not a single rupee was spent on environment preservation and pollution control measures.

While the DMF funds have provisions for providing irrigation facilities, a majority of the farmers in Sandur region have not benefited in spite of the fact that Tungabhadra reservoir is just 40 km away. Of the total Rs 80.6 crore allocated for irrigation, only Rs 9.38 crore has been utilised, making agriculture unsustainable here.

For skill development, the Ballari administration has used only Rs 3.25 crore against the allotted Rs 53.46 crore.

Ravichandra (41), a truck driver says, mining has to continue, even if it means suffering kidney stones and breathing problems, as he would be left with no other way of earning a living.

He was not aware that DMF funds can help him train and acquire other skills to sustain life.

More than 5,000 truck drivers, including those below the age of 18, are working in one of the 39 mines that are functioning now in Sandur taluk. A majority of them said they are willing to switch jobs if they are provided with the required skills.

P Pennappa, a villager from Kamtur, surrounded by seven mines, says whatever little the government has provided, has not helped people. “We have a primary health centre, and the doctor here comes once a week for a few hours,” he said. There were hardly any emergency medicines stored in the PHC when DH visited the village. And a few folic acid tablets that were kept in the storeroom were well past their expiry date. The DMF funds’ health allotment is Rs 214 crore, of which only Rs 21 crore was utilised.

Official response

Ballari deputy commissioner Pavan Kumar Malapati, who took charge recently, says all the details of work taken up under DMF funds are being uploaded on the official website.

The administration has taken up several rehabilitation works. “Every week, senior officials from Bengaluru have been taking stock of the situation and utilisation of funds,” he said.