Diamonds Over Life: Why We Are Fighting To Save Buxwaha Forest

What if you are given notice, with legal consequences, to evict your home within the following week? Do you think it is in accordance with your human rights? More so, do you think it is humane to issue such an order? What if it is because of the construction of an industry that would develop your locality? Would you still want to do it?

Standing in the 21st century, it is a matter of great astonishment that there are still certain groups of people around India whose lives are continuously put at risk of extinction in the name of development. It goes against the fundamental doctrines of human rights, yet they are somehow up for debate rather than being seen as a necessity.   

The Issue Of Buxwaha Forest

Recently, there has been one such incident where a stretch of tribal forest area in Madhya Pradesh has grabbed the people’s attention. The Buxwaha forests in the Chhatarpur district have seen several protests after the Essel Mining and Industries Limited (EMIL), under the Aditya Birla group, won the bid in the auction process Bunder Diamond Block to take up a diamond mining project in the area. 

From the geo-economical point of view, a brief look into this area would bring home the fact that the Buxwaha forest has an estimated resource block of 53.70 million tonnes of Kimberlite ore, which contains about 34 million carats worth of rough diamonds. An Australian worldwide mining corporation – M/s Rio Tinto Exploration India Private Limited, has previously explored this area.

But they had to give up their project considering the mass protests that gained momentum in the area due to the project’s negative environmental and socio-economic implications. But the EMIL group acquired the rights in December 2019, reigniting the old wave of dissatisfaction.

Once the plans of the diamond mining project became common knowledge, the old concerns of the people resurfaced through further protests and demonstrations. As a result, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) had been filed in the Supreme Court against the ESSEL Mining and Aditya Birla Group to execute a stay order on the project.

This, in turn, has also kindled an online uproar from netizens all across the country to bring attention to this cause. An online campaign called #savebuxwahaforest was started to divert attention towards the possible implications of the project in the area.

According to Dharmender, an activist who has been working for the Save Buxwaha Forest Campaign and has been attached to the cause of tribal rights and environmental conservation, “there have been an immense number of people who have sent postcards emails and messages of support. In addition, many people in influential positions have also knocked on the doors of higher administrative bodies to bring changes to this plan.”

As the most recent development in the case, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has given a stay order on the project citing complications such as extreme deforestation, loss of cultural heritage, disruption of ecosystem, endangering tribal identities, etc. The locals see this as a victory on their path to complete the project’s disintegration.

What Would Happen If The Mining Project Happens?

While on the surface, the plan to develop a multi-million dollar developmental project might seem to be productive in generating employment opportunities and help in better investments and more significant revenues to the government, the negative implications are too grave to ignore.

The Bunder area is a dry deciduous forest region that houses many different species of trees and wildlife. If this INR 2500 Cr budget project goes underway, at least 200,000 trees would have to be felled. The felling of these trees would significantly affect the stakeholders, who are mainly tribal groups.

These tribal groups have called these forests home for centuries and derive their essential means of sustenance and livelihood. So, not only would these tribal groups lose their means of living, but they would also lose their ancestral homes. Most of the villages in this area are considered ‘backwards’ and depend heavily on tendu leaves, chiraunji, teak, behda, arjuna, banyan, Jamun, etc., from the forest.

Moreover, the Bunder area has been tagged as one of the worst water-deficit areas in the state. The construction and functioning of this project would require at least 5.9 million cubic metres of water every year, and this project is expected to go on for at least the next 15 years.

The area already records droughts every year as the rainfall is insufficient and the seasonal water sources dry up. This might lead to the industries consuming groundwater from the already scanty reserve of the same. This will further aggravate the issue of water scarcity in the area, the worst affected being the tribal communities of the area.

Ore mining has another enormous effect – waste generation and subsequent pollution from the waste rock, mine water, tailings, and harmful chemicals like cyanide at some mines. These are mostly always dumped into water bodies contributing to water pollution or are left in the open, resulting in soil and air pollution. Some parts also often contaminate the groundwater reserve. 

Apart from the environmental impediments, several other socio-economic and cultural drawbacks exist. For example, the Buxwaha forest has an expansive stretch of prehistoric cave paintings, which some archaeologists believe to be older than the Bhimbhetka Cave paintings found 300 km away. These rock shelters would have to be brought down to establish the mining industries suppressing the strong evidence of a rich historical past of India.

On the other hand, the tribal communities who have been in these areas for centuries have to be displaced. Many tribes such as the Birhors and Kamars are already on the verge of extinction. Their displacement is meant to take the problem further downhill.

The tribal and social-rights activists also fear that the promised rehabilitation might not be allotted to the tribes, as has been multiple times before, in other such ‘developmental’ projects.

Other Cases Similar To #SaveBuxwahaForest

Most of these projects have been encouraged without contemplation of their possible effects on nature and its stakeholders. One of the most prominent examples is the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Since the legislation of the plan in 1979, a massive controversy erupted across the country.

The dispute has continued well into the current century. The idea was to build a multipurpose river valley project on the Narmada. But the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the Narmada Sagar Dam would result in approximately 250,000 people in the submergence zone of the dam construction. Most of these villages were tribal villages and were considered ‘backwards’. 

Moreover, the construction would do profound irreversible damage to the existing ecosystems of the area. The Narmada Bachao Andolan, led by activists like Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, demonstrated hunger strikes and protests for years, well into the 21st century.

But in the end, the court verdict was in favour of continuing the construction. The region’s ecosystem has seen drastic changes following the construction, and the tribal people continue to fight for proper rehabilitation.

The recent and sudden increase of floods and landslides in the Kumaon and Garhwal parts of the Himalayas is another example of what extreme developmental activities can do to a landscape. It poses a threat to the environment and simultaneously jeopardises the lives of the tribal communities in the areas.

This is one of the many cases that clearly shows the divide between the legislation and the reality of the situation, further worsened by corruption due to intense political influence at the grassroots levels.

Some other movements of similar nature are the Niyamgiri Movement (2003-2014), Madhupur Sal Forest struggles by Garo and Koch tribes (since 1962), Chipko Movement (1973-1974) and so on.

Why Are These Cases Concerning?

Article 46 of the Indian Constitution states that :

“The State shall promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes, and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.”

This is only one of the entire set of rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution for safekeeping the peaceful and healthy existence of Indian tribes. Article 15(4) and Article 29 enlists various circumstances and methods for special provisions for the advancement of minorities, including Scheduled Tribes and protection of their interests. 

Moreover, it provides a special set of protectionary land rights for Scheduled Tribes demarcating areas as Scheduled Areas, under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Indian Constitution. This has been done to ensure that the tribal communities can develop themselves as land plays a central role in tribal identities and livelihoods.

Some such Scheduled Areas are Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Yet, despite these protectionary measures, these tribes remain among the most disadvantaged and displaced social groups in Indian society. 

This can be traced back to reasons such as the great extent of forest and mineral resources in such areas giving the government ample space for legislating contradictory laws negating the protectionary instances in the Constitution. The lack of a strict, continuous set of rights and measures only benefits the mainlanders and multinational companies trying to encroach upon tribal lands.

Furthermore, under the law system, we have the Forest Rights Act (2006), which gives the tribal groups the right to dwell and cultivate sustainably for their livelihoods. They are guaranteed the right to own, collect and utilise forest resources such as leaves, the bark of trees, fish, grasslands for grazing, etc.

They conserve and regenerate forest resources which they have been historically protecting and utilising. Moreover, they would be provided with proper rehabilitation in illegal and forced eviction or displacement.

But a huge gap is created between the legal protection provided to tribal communities and the ground reality of the situation due to deep socially entrenched systems of corruption, discrimination, poverty and illiteracy, which often pose hurdles in fostering social welfare.

“The political influence is high at the ground. The parties in power have tagged us as ‘Naxalites’ and ‘Bahari’ (outsiders) without any reliable pieces of proof. We are just trying to help the people regain their rights on the land that they have been living on and devoted their lives to”, says Dharmender on being asked about the hurdles faced by the movement.

Moreover, with the recent surge of privatisation driven by the Indian government, these tribal areas are being given leases to private and multinational companies. These companies have the financial resources and influence people’s opinions about such situations.

Hence, the media tends to showcase one particular side of the scenario, completely overlooking the trauma and difficulties the affected people face. This is further facilitated in grass-root levels where the rampant influence of economic and political power helps these entrenched inequalities not just to persist but continue to perpetuate.

While these were the socio-economic hurdles, the environmental harm caused by such projects cannot be overlooked either. Throughout the history of post-colonial India, there have been multiple examples where ecological damage and disruption of ecosystems were not considered during the formulation of developmental policies.

Multi-purpose river valley projects, industrialisation, urbanisation, and constructing a productive road network system may be necessary development components. But, on the split side, if they are not done scientifically and with consensus, it will result in more harm than good.

Finally, development cannot be forced onto a section of people who are already at peace with their surroundings and lifestyles. While we have the right to demand more developmental activities, we also have the right to take a stance against it if it interferes with the daily flow of prosperous life.

Similar is the case of the tribal communities concerned. Therefore, while it is natural for the government to try and commit to developmental activities, there should be a proper consensus about it with the stakeholders at the grass-root levels. A “people’s representative” elected through a corrupt system cannot make decisions.

Conclusion

While protests like these have been persistent in India, only very few have been truly successful in their outcomes. While some movements asserted the power of the common people and were able to do away with wrong legislation, some other movements had to bow down to corrupt political and economic power. Some movements led to diplomatic decisions. That is, they tried to be impartial to both parties. The extent of success and relevance of these decisions need to be tested for time.

This does not imply that there should be no developmental activities. It simply means a development in accordance with the needs and aspirations of people, simultaneously keeping in mind the possible outcomes on the environment – which is what the concept of ‘sustainable development is all about.

The onus lies on the shoulders of the privileged section as well to come forward to spread awareness for causes like this. Social media is the greatest weapon for forming public opinion in the modern world.

The #savebuxwahaforest campaign has led to more significant numbers of people from all around the nation becoming aware and raising further awareness about this upcoming issue. The country’s power lies in the hands of its people, and there is no better judge of one’s issues than the ones experiencing it themselves.

Note: The author is part of the Dec ’21 batch of the Writer’s Training Program.