Mining in India continues to be massively destructive of the environment and hurtful to the people who stay in and around the mining areas. But the worst effects are on the Adivasi community. Large scale mining in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere destroys their lives and leads to displacement. The Supreme Court intervened time and again to prevent tribal lands being sold to non-tribals in the extraordinary Samatha Judgment and even declared Government to be “non-tribal” so that even PSUs could not mine in “Scheduled Areas”. In the successful struggle of the tribals of Odisha against the North Korean giant conglomerate POSCO, the Supreme Court decisions prevented cutting of trees and mining in the tribal areas.

The battle between the indigenous people and the corporations is reaching a crescendo, but lately the Judiciary is apparently losing interest in Human Rights, Tribal Rights and the Protection of the Environment.  What will the future hold for the next generation?