Amnesty accuses India’s coal producer of rights violation
Amnesty International has accused India’s main coal producer of violating the rights of local communities as the country struggles to increase coal production to meet its growing demand for power.
In a report published on Wednesday, Amnesty said Coal India, the world's largest coal producer, had failed to obtain the consent of the communities living near mines in central and eastern India on acquiring their land or the environmental impact of the company’s work in their neighborhoods.
The rights group, which is based in Britain, said India’s rush to open new mines to meet the growing demand for power has cost many their properties and health.
“Both the company and central and state governments don't seem to care to speak or listen to vulnerable Adivasi (indigenous) communities whose lands are acquired and forests destroyed for coal mining,” said Aakar Patel, head of Amnesty International India.
The report, which was based on interviews with 124 affected people, government officials, Coal India representatives and local journalists, activists and lawyers between January 2014 and February 2016, said some local communities near the mines did not even know that the company was acquiring their land until the deal was signed. A person interviewed in the report said he knew about the acquisition until after it happened.
The report said in three mines operated by Coal India and investigated by Amnesty, the land was acquired without directly informing affected families, or consulting them about their resettlement.
India’s latest census of 2011 shows that indigenous communities form more than eight percent of the country's population of 1.2 billion, with most of them living in extreme poverty and relying on the land for securing their food demands.
To meet the needs of its burgeoning economy, India is planning to double the coal production by 2020 to one billion tons annually. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in 2014, had vowed to put an end to crippling blackouts and bring power to more than 300 million Indians living without electricity.
The Modi administration has reportedly watered down some rules to fulfill the pledge, prompting criticism from environmental activists. Among the changes in the rules is a permission to polluting industries to operate closer to national parks while small coal miners could expand production by 50 percent without seeking public approval.
India has the world's fifth largest coal reserves. It relies on coal for 60 percent of its power.
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