Adivasi Women and Mining In India:A Handbook for Adivasi Women and NGOs Involved in Campaigns

for the Rights of Mining Affected Adivasi Communities

Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children&

Samata

Adivasi Women and Mining in India: A Handbook for Adivasi Women and NGOs Involved in Campaignsfor the Right of Mining Affected Adivasi Communities

October 2010

Published by:Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children307, Manasarovar Heights, Phase I, TirumalgiriSecunderabad 500 009, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaTelephone: +91-40-40121365

&

SamataD. No.: 14-37-9, First Floor, Krishna Nagar, MaharanipetVisakhapatnam 530 002, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaTelefax: +91-891-2737662/2737653

Email: dhaatri@gmail.com, samataindia@gmail.comWebsite: www.dhaatri.org, www.samataindia.org

Supported by:HIVOS, The Netherlands

Credits:Bhanumathi Kalluri and Seema Mundoli

The handbook is an extract from the report ‘Contesting Women’s Rights Within the Political Economy of Mining inIndia’ that can be accessed in full from the websites mentioned above. Any part of this handbook can be used freelyfor reference provided due acknowledgement for the same is provided.

Adivasi Women and Mining In India:A Handbook for Adivasi Women and NGOs Involved

in Campaigns forthe Rights of Mining Affected Adivasi Communities

Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children&

Samata

Adivasi Women and Mining in India: A Handbook for Adivasi Women and NGOsInvolved in Campaigns for the Right of Mining Affected Adivasi Communities

1

Introduction

In India, as across the world, large-scale miningprojects have primarily been located in forestand indigenous peoples’ (adivasi) lands. Thehistorical conflicts between the adivasis and thestate when mining projects have displaced andaffected these communities have now spiralledinto a region of war and violence, given thescale and number of mining projects beingproposed in the adivasi lands. The impacts thatthese projects have had on the adivasi womenhave completely been by-passed with thewomen being excluded from any consultation,compensation or rehabilitation. Yet the impactshave caused serious problems and human rightsabuses on adivasi women who are the principalcampaigners for the protection of their landsand natural resources.

This booklet is intended to serve as a handbookfor understanding the impacts and implicationsof mining projects on adivasi women and as acompilation of the demands and perspectivesgathered from adivasi women affected bydifferent mining projects. The booklet, althoughnot exhaustive, is meant to provide suggestionsfor civil society groups working on miningissues to bring a focus to the gender concernsdue to mining and to consciously include theseconcerns in their advocacy and campaignstrategies for the rights of communities. Thebooklet is a summary of the section ondisplacement and adivasi women from anational level study on the impacts of mining

on women in India called ‘Contesting Women’sRights in the Political Economy of Mining inIndia’. The problems identified and theperspectives and demands presented here arefrom the series of consultations with adivasiwomen from many states in India.

Some Facts About Mining in Adivasi Areasin India and Impacts on Adivasi Women

• Most large-scale mining has historicallybeen located in adivasi areas in India

• There are distinct gender separate impactsof mining projects which are deliberatelyignored

• Mining has direct impacts on adivasiwomen’s lives, rights and ownership overland, forests, water bodies, incomes andlivelihood

• Mining projects have led to displacementof adivasi communities where women aredirect losers, yet are not accounted for inthe project costs

• Displacement to adivasi women meansmore than just losing a house or land.Existing mining projects show howwomen lose their economic activities, foodsecurity, social, cultural and health supportsystems, and often end up as landless andmigrant labour

• Displacement from Scheduled Areas(areas marked out with predominantly

adivasi populations under the Constitutionof India) also has direct impact on adivasiwomen’s constitutional and customaryrights over their land

• As majority of adivasi women are illiterateand have no technical skills, very fewaffected women have employmentopportunities in the mines

• Development indicators for women likeliteracy, mortality rate, nutrition, health andeconomic well-being are clearly seen to beworse than prior to mining in most areas,indicating negative growth due to mining

• School drop-out rate, child labour andchild malnourishment are clearly visiblein most adivasi areas having miningprojects

• Vulnerability to sexual exploitation,violence and crime are seen to be increasedin adivasi areas having mining activities

Further

• Environment Impact Assessmentdocuments of mining projects only brieflystate the social costs and impacts andusually provide for very peripheralincentives to compensate these losses

• Compensation and rehabilitation are onlyindirectly provided to women as it is themale members who are called formeetings, who receive monetarycompensation or in whose names theresettled houses/lands are provided. Hencewomen rarely have the opportunity to

2

benefit from these rehabilitation packages

• Very few women from affected adivasicommunities are offered employment inthe mines, even after the death of theirhusbands

• Most mining townships and surroundingareas are found to have several destitutewomen, single mothers, widows, female-headed households as a result of mining

• It is found that women in communitiessurrounding mines suffer from severalhealth problems like malnutrition,tuberculosis, respiratory and reproductiveillnesses, waterborne diseases and illnessesrelated to pollution and toxicity due to themining activities. However, they receiveno medical services or compensation forthese problems as these are not accountedfor within the project costs.

• Disclosure of project information prior tothe clearance and consultation with adivasiwomen which is legally mandotory underthe Panchayat (Extension to ScheduledAreas) Act 1996 and an internationalobligation under the United NationsDeclaration on the Rights of IndigenousPeople 2007 (free, prior and informedconsent) are absent where mining projectsare being proposed. Further, adivasiwomen are prevented from participationin public hearings through corporatesponsored violence and policeintimidation.

• Space for democratic dissent is being more

and more reduced, with degradation oflocal governance institutions andcustomary leadership.

Legal Framework in India and AdivasiWomen Affected by Mining Projects

India has several Constitutional safeguards toprotect adivasi peoples’ land and resourcerights. These were strengthened withlegislations and court judgements over theyears. Of foremost importance in the contextof adivasis and their constitutional rights are:

The Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution

This provides a historic guarantee to theadivasis in the country and is the backbone tothe legal framework in the adivasi areas. Themost important right provided under thisSchedule is the prevention of land alienationthrough land transfer regulation where no landor immovable property in Scheduled Areas canbe transferred by way of sale or lease to personsother than an adivasi.

For the adivasi women, the Fifth Schedule ofthe Constitution provides protection of theirlands and natural resources from being alienatedto outsiders. Even if it does not directly providefor legal entitlements to the women, they enjoya fair degree of control and access to theseresources within their traditional social normsas long as the lands are within their communityfold. As women have a primary role inagriculture and forestry activities, the culturalpractices allow for decision-making andusufructory rights of women as well as theircontrol over incomes, to a large extent.

3

The Panchayats (Extension to ScheduledAreas) Act 1996

This Act is one of the most powerful legislationsrecognising the rights, cultures and aspirationsof adivasi people in Scheduled Areas. The Actprovides for reservation of seats for adivasiwomen (not less than one-third) asChairpersons and in the Panchayat. As per theAct the Gram Sabhas have to be consulted priorto acquisition of land for any developmentalactivities, including mining, and are endowedwith considerable powers to function asinstitutions for self-governance and adivasi selfrule. A Gram Sabha includes all the adult maleand female members of the village or villagePanchayat whichever applies to the respectivestates and assent of all the members is requiredthrough a resolution passed by them. This is,therefore, an important governance institutionwhich gives equal rights to men and women indecision-making over village matters, atleaston paper.

The Act enables women to participate in GramSabha meetings and voice their rights,especially when participating in mining relatedcampaigns, participation in passing resolutionsregarding mining projects, participating inpublic hearings and dialogue with state overrehabilitation matters.

The Samatha Judgement 1997

The Judgement supported the spirit of the FifthSchedule of the Constitution and the LandTransfer Regulations of different stategovernments with respect to protecting adivasi

peoples’ land rights against being alienated toprivate mining companies. It has specialsignificance in the case of rights over mineralresources in Scheduled Areas. The Judgementstands not only as a custodian of adivasi landrights, but also has strong implications for theprotection of adivasi women’s land rights asthe Fifth Schedule primarily aims at preventionof exploitation of adivasi communities byoutsiders

Some of the salient features are:

• Adivasi lands in Scheduled Areas cannotbe transferred to non adivasis or privateindustries as a body corporate like a privatemining company is also a non-tribal‘person’.

• Government cannot lease out lands inScheduled Areas for mining operations tonon adivasis as this was in contradictionof the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution

• Mining activity in the Scheduled Areas canbe taken up only by a government entityor a cooperative of local adivasicommunity and that too only if it is incompliance with the Forest (Conservation)Act 1980 and the Environment(Protection) Act 1986.

• The Gram Sabha shall be competent tosafeguard and preserve communityresources and thereby reiterated the needto give the right of self-governance toadivasis.

• The Court directed that 20% of the netprofits be set aside as a permanent fund as

4

part of the industrial/business activity forestablishment and maintenance of waterresources, schools, hospitals, sanitationand transport facilities by laying roads, etc.This 20% allocation would not include theexpenditure for reforestation andmaintenance of ecology.

The implications of the Judgement for women:

The Samatha Judgement came as a saviour ofthe adivasi communities, particularly womenwho were in the forefront of the campaign andopposed the mining projects.

Protection of lands in Scheduled Areas fromindustrialisation implies that adivasi women,who are the main protectors and dependents ofland, continue to hold ownership and controlover their lands, even in the absence of legaltitle deeds being in their names.

The Judgement upholds the spirit of theConstitution which recognised that adivasis,particularly women, are most vulnerable to theexploitation of outsiders and that they wouldnot have a level playing ground with privateindustries like mining.

It implies a continued economic sustenance andlivelihood opportunities directly for women asthey are the mainstay of traditional economies.

The Samatha Judgement perhaps also set aprecedent to the debate over share and benefitsto the local communities and the need for a cost-benefit analysis of mining projects although itlimited its verdict to the legal context ofdefining a ‘person’ whether individual orcorporate. Particularly with the gust of

multinational mining companies putting upproposals for mining leases in Scheduled Areas,the Judgement stands as a custodian of theadivasi women during the post-1990sliberalisation crisis.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other TraditionalForest Dwellers (Recognition of ForestRights) Act 2006

The Act is relevant in the context of mining asmost mining areas fall within the forest areasor Scheduled Areas where adivasis and forestsare co-existent. The Act recognises the rightsof forest dwellers to their individual andcommon properties in forest lands occupied bythem prior to 2005. The Act provides for pattasto the wife jointly with the husband forindividual family claims on land cultivated. Insome states, the implementation of the Act isbeing hindered by mining interests. The Act isan important legal and food security tool foradivasi women as this sets a precedent forwomen to gain legal ownership of land throughthe joint title deeds.

Recommendations and Demands of AdivasiWomen

Protect the rights of adivasi women underthe Fifth Schedule

Any dilution of the Fifth Schedule and the LandTransfer Regulations of the Scheduled Areaswould imply violation of the rights of adivasiwomen whose lives are linked to the lands andnatural resources.

The repeated attempts at bringing amendmentto the Fifth Schedule which aims at allowing

5

transfer of lands in the Scheduled Areas forprivate mining should be prevented at all costs.

In this direction, the Samatha Judgement whichacts as the custodian of adivasi women’s controlover their lands should be respected in its truespirit.

Respect the Panchaya (Extension toScheduled Areas) Act 1996

The Act should be respected and complied within accordance with the United NationsUniversal Declaration on the Rights ofIndigenous Peoples. Unless the processes ofconsultations are transparent and democratic,the laws merely serve as a mandatory procedurerather than ensure true governance andparticipation.

Political stability should be the urgent priorityespecially in the Scheduled Areas whereviolence and political conflict have reacheddisproportionate levels. The state should beconscious that addressing true developmentneeds of people in these remote areas iseconomically more pragmatic than armedconflict or the foreign exchange gained to a fewcompanies at the cost of people’s developmentwithout the benefits being enjoyed by localcommunities.

Free, prior and informed consent for adivasiwomen read along with the Act in the contextof mining implies:

a. That the women have the right to projectspecific information on the quantity ofwater, extent of forest and revenue landand all other resources that will be diverted

for the activity.

b. That the full participation of and decision-making by adivasi women is imperativewithout which no Gram Sabha resolutionis valid.

c. That the Act should be read as village orgroup of hamlets being taken as GramSabha and not the village Panchayat asadopted in some of the state Acts. Allaffected villages and families should havethe right of participation in Gram Sabhameetings to pass resolutions regarding aproject.

d. That the no-objection certificates forsanctioning minor minerals should bevested with the Gram Sabhas. Nocertificate can be made valid without theconsent of the affected women in the GramSabha.

e. That the women should have access toinformation, decision-making overutilisation of royalties and verification ofutilisation, mine site verification,complaints over non-compliance, andparticipation in grievances and redressalprocesses that affect their communities.

f. That the women should have the freedomof objecting to any mining projects thathinder their protection and development,without fear or threat.

g. That the process of Environment ImpactAssessment should be undertaken byindependent agencies, and with clear andmeasurable gender assessment indicators.

6

h. That the public hearings should beconducted in an atmosphere of democraticconduct without obstructing theparticipation of women through state andpolice excesses as is currently beingfollowed.

i. That the company should provide, inwritten form to the Gram Sabha, aguarantee that the mining activity will notbe located near the habitations, school,anganwadi, water sources and healthcentre of the village.

j. That the company should provide aguarantee that water bodies used by thecommunity will not be affected by theiroperations and should allow forcommunity evaluation of these sources andtheir quality from time to time, and thatno area beyond the lease area will beoccupied/acquired without formalprocedure.

k. That the company should also guaranteethat only specified areas far away from thevillage will be used for parking of trucksand vehicles, and these areas should bedesignated before the clearance of the leaseso that women and children are protectedfrom a socially threatening environmentthat is created by movement of a floatingpopulation.

l. That dust and water pollution will bemitigated through regular precautionaryactions (which already exist under law) butpenal action will be taken if regularmitigating activities are not undertaken.

Project monitoring process should beformally defined at the time of granting oflease with affected women as participantsin the monitoring activities.

m. That health check-ups and treatmentshould be provided by the mining companyboth to the workers and to the community,and results of the same should be availablefor public scrutiny at the office of thecompany and also submitted to the districtmedical and health officers at regularintervals fixed at the time of the lease orprovided in the Mines Safety Rules of theMines and Minerals (Development andRegulation) Act 1957.

n. That mine closure plans should beprovided at the time of granting of leasewith clear explanation and timeframe onhow the clean up of closed / abandonedmines will be undertaken, reclamation oflands, water bodies, forests will be done,resettlement of workers and communitiesif required, and such other socio-ecologicalcosts of closure should be spelt out. Aclosure audit should be undertaken by anindependent agency with definedparticipation of women from affectedcommunities in the process of mineclosure audit.

Undertake stocktaking of Brownfields beforeopening up Greenfields

Land acquisition leads to displacement ofwomen and children who are the mostcompromised in resettlement and rehabilitationfor mining projects, with added disadvantage

7

to nature dependent Scheduled Areas.

A stocktaking of current utilisation of landacquired, wastage, dumping, disturbance towater bodies, etc., to be assessed with the helpof an independent technical and socialassessment committee that has a clear genderequity mandate. The assessment developedthrough measurable indicators could includesuch aspects as impacts on women and children,the effect on their health, education, livelihood,violence, food and social security, as well astheir relation to ecological resources. This stocktaking of Brownfields should set the directionfor planning in the Greenfields.

A time-bound programme for right-sizingacquisitions must be enforced as vast areas ofland are acquired without utilising the same forthe specified purpose and without findingalternatives for more frugal use of land.

There is a huge potential for rationalisation ofmining leases and also to cull poorly productivedeposits and illegal mines without the need toacquire more and more areas. Details of landto be acquired, rationale for requiring thespecified area, what non-displacing alternativeshave been explored, clear design and workingplans for the specified area proposed need tobe developed.

Clearances for mining lease should not only beobtained from the Forest Department but alsofrom key departments like that of WaterResources, Education, Women and ChildDevelopment as these resources and deliveryof services are seriously affected by miningactivities.

Give precedence to the Scheduled Tribes andOther Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Rights) Act 2006

Where there is a conflict of interest betweenmining and settlement of people’s rights underthis, implementation of this Act should takeprecedence over acquisition of lands for miningas the former is a legal right ensured to theadivasi people in the Constitution. This isimportant from the perspective of gender as, inmany places, women are getting joint pattas tothe lands under the Act and it would be a grossinjustice to prevent the settlement of their rightsfor the sake of mining interests.

Undertake Environment Impact Assessmentfrom a gender lens

Environment Impact Assessment documents tobe made mandatory to provide for details ofimpacts of the mining project on localcommunities with focus on women andchildren.

A cost-benefit analysis to be undertaken of theproject based on social and gender impacts,losses to all sections of the communitiesincluding women (income, livelihood, resourceownership and usufructory rights, social,cultural and ecological losses) and how they willbe compensated / addressed.

Concrete benefits of the project to be providedinclusive of gender equity in economicopportunities, rehabilitation and resettlement,education, training and other skills developmentbenefits, in clear written form for the GramSabhas to take their decision over the projects.

8

The Environment (Protection) Act 1986 shouldbe immediately amended to make it compulsoryfor Environment Impact Assessments to havethis component and to set up independentagencies for undertaking these assessmentsinstead of the current practice of agencies hiredby the interested companies. Gender ImpactAssessment should be an important componentof the Environment Impact Assessmentdocuments.

Ensure gender equity in rehabilitationplanning

Non displacing alternatives should be seriouslyexplored and a report of the rationale fordisplacement should be clearly indicated in theEIA document for community and publicscrutiny.

Rehabilitation must be an integral part of thelease agreement and the rehabilitation plansshould clearly specify the impacts on womenand children and the plan for rehabilitatingthem.

These should begin with a baseline survey ofpre-existing social, health, nutrition andeconomic condition, food security, both fromforest and land, of the women and their familiesand to ensure that adequate information existsto accomplish rehabilitation tasks. The area ofsurvey should include the entire direct andindirectly affected communities, not only theimmediate land losers.

These include providing employment,livelihood to displaced/affected families,widows and single mothers with children, made

destitute due to mining, mentally and physicallychallenged in the community, especially chronicand long-term health problems which haveresulted from mining and related to pollution,contamination, toxicity, disappearance ofresources like water bodies that have affectedthe nutrition and food security of thecommunities, etc.

Rehabilitation and resettlement should be basedon gender equity in respecting legal rights aswell as providing new opportunities andbenefits. The legal rights to be kept in mindare:

• To recognise right of women to be treatedas co-parceners as per the HinduSuccession (Amendment) Act 2005.Women to be treated as head of thehousehold on par with the husbands andmade joint owners along with theirhusbands of the resettled houses, lands andcompensation with joint pattas withrespect to the former, and joint bankaccounts for the latter. The law shouldspecify the legal rights of single women,widows and women-headed householdswhen their lands are acquired and providefor a fair share in the legal rights toresettlement.

• Provide equal rights to the daughters aswith sons, over the lands acquired by thecompanies as per the Hindu Succession(Amendment) Act 2005. Daughters to getequal share in the compensation andrehabilitation as that of sons. Daughtersshould be provided jobs as that of sons in

9

the mining project corresponding withtheir educational levels.

• The affected communities should have thelegal right to rehabilitation beforedisplacement and land alienation. Theaffected communities complain that thecoal companies are taking reference to theCoal Bearing Areas (Acquisition andDevelopment) Act 1957 to force affectedcommunities to first demolish their housesbefore claiming for compensation. Thispractice should be revoked and necessaryamendments need to be brought in if anyof the sections of the Act so imply thispractice, as it is a violation of the right tohousing and right to life of the affectedcommunities.

Further

• The identification of alternate lands forhousing and release of funds forreconstruction involves long delay whichviolates the basic rights of shelter and rightto life of the affected. Rehabilitationshould be completed in a time-boundmanner with punitive action for non-/incomplete implementation stated withinthe project document.

• The land acquisition and rehabilitationplan for a village should be provided in acomprehensive manner instead of thestaggered manner of displacing a fewfamilies at a time and offering jobs andresettlement likewise. The Gram Sabhascannot take a proper decision in the

absence of a comprehensive project planand rehabilitation plan for the village.

• Women should be equal participants in theplanning and implementation ofrehabilitation where they are involved inthe identification of alternate sites andwater sources, design of houses andvillages, kitchen gardens, schools,healthcare centres and other amenitiesidentified and planned by them.

• Women should have the right of giving orwithholding permission for liquor shops,especially in the Scheduled Areas wherethe Gram Sabhas have the ‘power toenforce prohibition or to regulate or restrictthe sale and consumption of anyintoxicant’ under the Panchayat (Extensionto Scheduled Areas) Act 1996.

• Rehabilitation and resettlement should bepart of the project cost and should have adecent living standard provided to theaffected. The current practice of hugeexpenditure and land allocation for thecompany townships whereas the resettledcolonies are provided with less thanminimal facilities should be stopped. Thereshould be a shift to pragmatic and sociallyjust approach to rehabilitation.

The rehabilitation plans should include apreliminary and periodic assessment plan for:

a. Existing institutions that support thedevelopment of women and children likeanganwadis, schools, colleges, healthinstitutions both traditional and

10

governmental, status of water resources,houses, roads and transport. Particularly,the allocation of resources for themaintenance of widows and destitutewomen in the mining area should bespecifically included.

b. Details of how minimum disturbance tothe existing resources, forests, waterbodies, cultures and social institutions willbe ensured by the company.

c. Details of how these disturbances will becompensated/rehabilitated/alternatedwithin the project cost, especially withrespect to women and children.

d. Free health services and hospital facilitiesshould be provided not only for employeesbut also for affected communities andcommunities around the mining project,particularly child healthcare facilities thataddress the pollution and other problemsthat result from mining. The miningcompanies should set aside a health fundthat is independently handled, for thetreatment of women and children in thevillages surrounding the mines, who sufferfrom serious and chronic illnesses. Themining companies should compensate thecommunities with health problems/deformities/birth defects that areassociated with mining activities. Anindependent medical assessment thatespecially looks into reproductive healthconcerns has to be provided to avoidbiased medical reports on behalf of thecompany. Some existing mining areas

have been receiving reports of alarmingrates of health problems among womenand children—these hotspots should beidentified and declared as healthemergency zones and an urgent healthintervention programme should be takenup. Proposed projects with similar mineralextraction plans should provide a projectmanagement plan for prevention of thesediseases/illnesses as a precautionaryprinciple.

Penalties should be defined for non-implementation of rehabilitation as perprojected plans and assessments withrecommendations made by the monitoringcommittee.

Further, rehabilitation should show directbenefits for women and children, not just self-help group schemes, or collective programmesunder Corporate Social Responsibility, whichare not a true replacement of their lostlivelihoods. The current practice of providingmonetary compensation has shown that withina short period the project affected families aremade destitute as a result of losing their landsand economic sustenance. Concrete alternatelivelihood activities and proper economicactivity that treats them as individual economicunits have to be clearly indicated. Rehabilitationshould also include not just the immediate landlosers but all who are directly and indirectlyaffected. Otherwise, women who lose theirrights to cultivate their kitchen gardens or loseaccess to water due to the groundwaterdepletion as a result of mining, are an example

11

of how mining creates losses without pinningresponsibilities or assessing the actual costs/losses.

Mine closure plans

Mine closure plan should include clear financialallocations and programmes for protection anddevelopment of women and children.

The post-closure livelihood plan for workersand local communities should be specified.

The mining companies should not be allowedto abruptly close down their hospitals andmedical facilities without a withdrawal plan formedical facilities with formally laid downprocedures and permissions for handing overof these services to the public healthdepartments with financial commitmentsduring the transition and post closure period.

Women from the affected communities shouldbe involved in these mine closure plans andimplementation of mine closure.

The reason for mining regions to be dominatedby corruption, violence and terror is due to thehuge profits that are made by companies therebycreating unholy nexus between political andeconomic lobbies, while the local conditionsof people and environment are destroyed.Unless costs are distributed fairly, incomes andprofits are more distributive and particularly,shared with local bodies and communities thishuge divide caused by mining will destroy theentire democratic framework of India.Therefore, financial transparency is of utmostimportance. Government, banks/investment

agencies and companies have to commit totransparency like making public the paymentsmade by companies, accountability as inprocesses like the Extractive IndustriesTransparency Initiative and setting up morestringent social and rehabilitation policies.

And lastly, the best sustainable developmentframework, considering the status of weakgovernance in mining areas in India and theeven poorer access to rights that women have,is to ‘Minimise Mining’.

Sustainable development of the country and notthat of a company should be the purpose ofmining. Therefore, a review of the economicsof mining is urgently required here, from agender-based perspective with a thoroughassessment of the costs and benefits of miningvis-a-vis the diverse other resources andlivelihoods in this Greenfield area. Particularly,women’s existing incomes and economic

sustenance have to be assessed against theproposed economics of mining to understandwhether mining provides a better scope forsustenance to the women. The assessmentshould also include the ecological economicsof mining as against existing livelihoods andresource utilisation. These should be furtherbased on assessment of the constitutional-customary rights of women in mining and pre-mining situations.

The above recommendations are aimed atbringing focus to the campaign demands ofcommunities and people’s movements fightingfor the rights of mining affected people. Thesewere gathered from a series of discussions andconsultations with adivasi women, NGOs anddefenders of human rights working in thegrassroots for the rights of mining affectedcommunities for the national study on theimpacts of mining in India.

12

Dhaatri Resource Centre for Women and Children307, Manasarovar Heights, Phase I, TirumalgiriSecunderabad 500 009, Andhra Pradesh, India

Telephone: +91-40-40121365&

SamataD. No.: 14-37-9, First Floor, Krishna Nagar, Maharanipet

Visakhapatnam 530 002, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaTelefax: +91-891-2737662/2737653

Email: dhaatri@gmail.com, samataindia@gmail.comWebsite: www.dhaatri.org, www.samataindia.org