Children - Terre des Hommes

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6 However, closer observation of the current mining sector reveals that mineral production is being viewed by both the central and state governments as a means of short-term revenue generation and to fuel current economic growth rates, as opposed to being considered holistically as part of the country’s wider, more long-term development goals, human development indicators and preservation of the environment and other natural resources such as water. With the new economic policy in India, there have been a number of changes in the mining sector. Although traditionally in the hands of the public sector, there has been increasing privatisation and more mines are now privately owned. Foreign direct investment has been a thrust area for the sector, with both the central and state governments pushing for liberalisation and deregulation in not only the Coal Nationalisation Act and labour laws, but also in other related areas such as the environment. It has also impacted employment due to the enforcement of Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS) on mine workers. The Fifth Scheduled Areas, areas which are constitutionally demarcated for tribal populations, are being opened up for foreign direct investment and private industries, primarily mining, leading to deforestation and displacement of tribals. Most alarmingly, there has been a huge increase in the informal sector mining activities through sub-contracting mining and quarrying. But mining is not the subject of this study. This study is about the relationship between children’s rights and mining. It attempts to address the question — what is the impact of mining on children? According to the most recent Indian Census carried out in 2001, children constitute mining areas. These we refer to as “Mining Children” in this report. A fact-finding study in 2005 in the iron ore mines of Hospet in Bellary District, Karnataka, for the first time, brought home to the organisations involved in this study, the immense impact mining has on the lives of children. It became imperative to follow that fact-finding study with a more systematic research to gain a better understanding. India boasts of several legal protections for children, with the Right to Education being the latest fundamental right. These laws are strengthened by positive schemes to bring children out of poverty and marginalisation. The paradox of mining lies in the fact that the mining industry or the mining administration is not legally responsible for ensuring most of the rights and development needs of children. The mess that is created in the lives of children as a result of mining is now addressed by other departments like child welfare, education, tribal welfare, labour and others, which makes for an inter-departmental conflict of interest and leaves ample room for ambiguities in state accountability. In this process, the child is being forgotten. Hence, the glaring heart-rending impacts of mining on children have technically few legal redressal mechanisms to bring the multiple players to account. While there is some documentation and research available on the impact of mining on communities in general, apart from scattered and anecdotal information, very little information is available on the impact of mining on children in all its dimensions. Research on mining and children has tended to focus solely on the aspect of child labour, which again is restricted to minerals that are normally exported and have the potential to shock the western consumer. The multitude of other ways in which children are impacted by mining have been completely neglected. Needless to say, neither the groups and campaigns that focus on mining issues, nor those working with children, have paid this issue the attention it deserves. This report provides but a glimpse into the lives of children living, working, affected by and exploited by mining in India. We hope that the microcosm of children we touched through this report evokes a national reflection on what could be the plight of millions of children affected by mining in India. It is hoped that this report will yet again bring to national debate the paradox of “India’s inclusive growth” that still ignores the majority of children. When national sentiments are stirred by the rhetoric of children being the future of our nation, it is important to assess for ourselves whether our development models are actually geared towards creating a future for India’s children, or are instead, providing a nation with little present or future for the majority of our children. It therefore asks the question, “How do we as a nation want to measure ourselves as achieving human development?” This study shows how the development aspirations created by our policy makers and political leadership create a strong likelihood for future divides between the children of this country, furthering both the socio-economic divide and the urban-rural divide. Among the adivasi and dalit children, the displacement, impoverishment and indebtedness caused
7 by mining and its ancilliary activities shows a dearth of opportunities for them to access even basic rights such as primary education and healthcare. That they are being forced to take on adult economic roles in the most exploitative conditions in order to help their families survive, is certainly not an indicator that sets us on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) goals emphasised in the 11th Five Year Plan especially for these social groups. This paves the route to socio-economic disparities in India’s children. This study also shows that children and their communities are not part of the growth and development that mining promises. For example, it is over 30 years since the NALCO mining project, a public sector undertaking in the Koraput District of Orissa began. In these 30 years, the data from the case study reveals that there has been little upward mobility for the children of affected families, either educationally or economically. This is the fate of those affected by a public sector project where social responsibility is intended to be the principal agenda. There does not appear to be a single mining project that has fulfilled the rehabilitation promises in a manner that has improved the life of affected communities nor have they set a precedent for best practices that the government can set as a pre-condition to private mining companies. Moreover, there has been no assessment or stock taking of the status of rehabilitation especially with regard to the status of children. The findings from this study provide a strong reason for an urgent comprehensive assessment of the status of children in mining areas — children of mine workers as well as of local communities, child labour engaged in mining and the status of the institutional structures for them. It also calls for addressing the glaring loopholes in the law, policy and implementation related to mining in general, and private and small scale/rat hole mining in particular that are related to children, to develop guidelines for migrant labour and the un-organised sector and pre-conditions that need to be fixed before mining leases are granted. Foremost is the need for strengthening protection mechanisms for children and campaigns against child labour in these regions. What is the Definition of a “Child”? A key challenge for child rights work in India is the confusion around the definition of a child in terms of age. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted “every human being below the age of 18.” Indian legislation also makes 18 years the general age of majority in India. However, other laws passed in India cause confusion in this area, with many laws defining childhood as only up till banned from working in hazardous occupations, which includes mining and quarrying, for this purpose, a child is between 15 and 18, there is no applicable regulation. This has also been witnessed with the passing of the all but no such guarantee exists for children 15 and above. As organisations committed to the rights of all children in India, in this study, HAQ and Samata will consider the impacts of mining on children up to the age of 18 years. However, there are serious limitations in terms of statistics, as the majority of statistics, such as the Census 2001, only calculates the number of working children up till Law And Policy International Standards The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child includes the rights for children to be protected from hazardous work. Children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfering with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. The Convention also recognises the right of the child to education and requests State Parties to take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of dropout rates, which is a frequent problem among working children. 6. Ministry for Women and Child Development, Definition of the Child, http://wcd.nic.in/crcpdf/CRC-2.PDF, uploaded: 10 August 2009. 7. Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
Page 2 and 3: India’s Childhood in the "Pits" A
Page 4 and 5: iii Acknowledgements This report, c
Page 6 and 7: Table of Contents About the Study 3
Page 8 and 9: 4 List of states and districts visi
Page 12 and 13: 8 In addition, almost all work perf
Page 14 and 15: 10 Impacts Children are affected di
Page 16 and 17: 12 is mandatory and this must be
Page 18 and 19: 15 National Overview Mining has imp
Page 20 and 21: 17 Table 1.2: Number of illegal min
Page 22 and 23: 19 Table 1.3: Key indicators in min
Page 24 and 25: 21 migrate to plain areas or are co
Page 26 and 27: 23 had no land to start with and wo
Page 28 and 29: 25 Although there is no data to sho
Page 30 and 31: 27 2,055 children enrolled in Santu
Page 32 and 33: 29 we will eat tomorrow,” said a
Page 34 and 35: 31 GURIA is a dark-eyed little girl
Page 36 and 37: 33 Serious health problems have alr
Page 38 and 39: 35 In several districts of Rajastha
Page 40 and 41: 37 Table 1.4: Total number of child
Page 42 and 43: 39 Bearing in mind that many of the
Page 44 and 45: 41 children are working in mines in
Page 46 and 47: 43 significant problem. A study car
Page 48 and 49: 45 Part II State Reports 1. Karnata
Page 50 and 51: 48 basic healthcare to its populati
Page 52 and 53: 50 Kolar district: Key facts Total
Page 54 and 55: 52 and pursued higher education. Th
Page 56 and 57: 54 has created a peculiar aesthetic
Page 58 and 59: 56 number of children working in th
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58 almost every child is absent for
Page 62 and 63:
60 Table 2.02: Survey on children n
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62 the village were cough, eye infe
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65 Maharashtra State Overview Mahar
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67 154 are in Maharashtra (making i
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69 poverty, (ii) education, (iii) h
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71 Quarry is a very big area spread
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73 family works as a unit and manag
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75 Table 2.06: Class-wise distribut
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77 Children in stone quarries hit b
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80 Literacy levels are also poor in
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82 and quarrying in the state. Of t
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84 Follow up interviews were carrie
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86 At Thumbli village, residents ex
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88 usually not strong enough to car
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90 Inadequate Health Facilities Sev
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92 Many of the Workers in the Mines
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94 that 296,979 children aged betwe
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96 This case study covered two mine
Page 98 and 99:
98 Traditional Forest Dwellers (Rec
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100 in the mine sites ekeing out a
Page 102 and 103:
102 Conclusions Panna, once a rich
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104 Commission, Government of India
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106 The top five most mined distric
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108 There are several other content
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110 Table 2.11: Enrolment of childr
Page 112 and 113:
112 companies for their power plant
Page 114 and 115:
115 Jharkhand State Overview The st
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117 population who live in these fo
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119 around coal, but to also provid
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121 Status of Anganwadi Centres and
Page 122 and 123:
123 due to multiple government duti
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125 Uranium Corporation of India Li
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128 farming and forestry. It is the
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130 attendance at birth, the high p
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132 were displaced for mining proje
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134 the impacts are visibly evident
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136 for construction and other indu
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138 Table 2.17: School enrolment da
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140 village also complained of cont
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142 about the status of children in
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144 exposed to the toxicity from th
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146 for labour elsewhere. The prese
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148 State Excesses and Human Rights
Page 148 and 149:
150 Table 2.25: Information collect
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152 The DP Camp is far away from th
Page 152 and 153:
154 Naik and Mr. Prahlad Naid who a
Page 154 and 155:
156 Social Cost of Displacement As
Page 156 and 157:
158 Table 2.32: Comparative village
Page 158 and 159:
160 Rajabandha also has a low cost
Page 160 and 161:
162 on land to be acquired in some
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165 Andhra Pradesh State Overview T
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167 Mining in Andhra Pradesh Almost
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169 small areas where there are qua
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171 other families also working in
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173 Nature of Quarry Work Tradition
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175 Conclusions The three micro-lev
Page 174 and 175:
Part III Summary and Recommendation
Page 176 and 177:
180 Whose Child is India’s Mining
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182 attention on child labour issue
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184 are not working in the mines.
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186 proposed to be the basis of th
Page 184 and 185:
188 explored, clear design and work
Page 186 and 187:
OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE RIGHT TO IN
Page 188 and 189:
193 Andhra Pradesh areas. Appr
Page 190 and 191:
195 Tamil Nadu Orissa informati
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197 compensation for land and R
Page 194 and 195:
Annexures
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200 Karnataka The tables below give
Page 198 and 199:
202 Drop-out children brought back
Page 200 and 201:
205 Glossary Adivasi: The term used
Page 202 and 203:
207 and educational development. Pa
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Children - Terre des Hommes

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