Anandwan, the ashram founded by the late Gandhian social worker and activist Baba Amte in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, could soon be facing an environmental threat.
Concerned that a coal mine proposed to be developed nearby could hurt their community of disabled people and leprosy patients, ashram authorities have refused to give their consent to the mine project and are considering commissioning an independent assessment of environmental and social impacts.
Over 70 MMT reserves
The Warora West coal block, lying about 5 km away from Anandwan, has coal reserves of more than 70 MMT and has been allotted to the Maharashtra State Mining Corporation (MSMC), which is developing it in collaboration with private player Gupta Coal India Ltd. In fact, MSMC has already been pulled up by the Coal Ministry for delays in development of the block and threats that the allotment could be cancelled if the process is not speeded up.
Accordingly, MSMC held the requisite public hearing in the region on February 12.
Strong objections
However, sources at Anandwan say that the village was unaware of the hearing or the specific details of the mine project until just two days before the hearing and registered strong objections. Alarmed by the possibility of harmful consequences to its unique population, the Anandwan gram panchayat has refused to issue the required No Objection Certificate to the mine's promoters, despite corporate lobbying. The neighbouring panchayat of Borda has also refused to issue an NOC.
While the official Environment Impact Assessment report needed for an environmental clearance is prepared by a consultant hired by the promoter, Anandwan has decided to commission its own independent studies, sources say.
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences are reportedly on the shortlist of independent agencies who could be asked to conduct the assessments.
The seven communes of Anandwan are home to 1,500 leprosy patients and former patients and another 1,000 with various physical disabilities, including those with visual, speech and hearing impairments, as well as a group of orphans. Founded just two years after India's Independence, the “kibbutz of the sick”, as Baba Amte called it, is today one of the world's largest communities of physically challenged people.
Impact on water,farming economy
Apart from concerns regarding air and water pollution that can be caused by a nearby coal mine, Anandwan authorities are reportedly worried about the impact on their groundwater and their farming economy.
There are also fears that a large commercial mine could rip apart the area's social fabric. A local doctor pointed out that Chandrapur district — which calls itself Black Gold City due to its vast reserves of coal — has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS incidence in the State. With mining comes heavy truck traffic, leading to the sad consequence that “mining and prostitution go hand in hand...That kind of human pollution is also possible, and is so often overlooked in any assessment,” said the doctor. “That's why a comprehensive social impact assessment is also needed.” Anandwan's disabled population could be particularly vulnerable.
Until it has an independent, unbiased opinion in hand, Anandwan is not prepared to give its nod to the mine at the risk of its half-century- old way of life.
