State Level Consultation – Boisar, Maharashtra

In the State Level Consultation at Boisar, Palghar, Maharashtra there were discussions on the overview of mining throughout the country, various stages of mining, illegal mining, Samata Judgement, situation of children in the mining areas and consequences on their education, health due to air and water pollution, malnutrition issues etc., There were sessions on Mining Rules & Law Amendments, DMF Structure, Set up & present status, Cooperative mining – shareholding for the tribals, Silicosis, Displacement and Future Generation Fund (model of Goa).

A short documentary film “Falling through the cracks – Children and Mining” was screened and followed by a detailed session on the plight of children in mining areas by the Secretary General of mm&P. A Participatory approach was followed in sensitizing the people on the violation of child rights in the context of Children in mining areas.

There were elaborative discussions on Industrial Corridors especially the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) which is a dedicated corridor spread across the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajathan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The project has received a major boost from India and Japan, due to an agreement to set up a project development fund with an initial size of Rs.1,000 crore (US$139.3 million).The Japanese and Indian governments are likely to contribute equally. The work is progressing at a rapid pace, with the dedicated freight corridor expected to be completed by December 2019. It came into notice that the DMIC is spread across 4,36,486 sq. kms. and 17% of the country’s population will be affected because of the same.

There was sharing on the issues of Bullet train, National Expressways, Delhi- Mumbai Flight Corridor in the context of land acquisition, Emergence of Tribals, Challenges faced by them, Tribal Identity – Governance in schedule areas, Tribal Advisory Council, Schedule V & Schedule VI of the Constitution and Migration.