By Sandra Fabbretti
Conservationist have attacked a coal mining project in India, which is to be partly funded by Australian taxpayers. More than $300 million of Australian aid will go towards the development of a coal mine in the Indian state of Bihar, which some groups claim will be a social and environmental disaster.
"The Piparwar coal mine will provide electricity to the wealthier parts of Delhi", says Carol Sherman, director of the Rainforest Action Centre. "The future for the people in the path of this high-tech venture is no homes, no forests and no jobs." Sherman says local residents have been ousted from their homes in what amounts to a "forced resettlement" program.
The Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB) has committed millions of dollars to the project. "The community will benefit in terms of the arrangement and in terms of the new jobs which will be generated", says spokesperson Scott Dawson.
Sherman disagrees. She says the Australian money is incorrectly labelled development aid. She expects profits from the mine will not be put back into the local community but will end up in Australia.
While Dawson doesn't deny that some profits will come to Australia, he maintains that the mine will facilitate trade in India and add to "the overall resources of the country". Bihar is one of India's poorest states.
Dawson believes benefits to the local community outweigh pay-offs to overseas interests. "If India is going to improve the standards of living of its people, it needs new energy sources", he says. "The job offers at this mine are really very generous in comparison to [its] labour requirements.
"Provisions have been made for the resettlement, compensation and employment of local inhabitants — all in accordance with Indian environmental legislation."
Meanwhile, India is already suffering from water pollution and deforestation from mining projects. According to Sherman, one of the Australian companies, Central Coalfields Limited, has an appalling record in India. "They've done nothing about reforestation or enhancing the environment where they have mined", she says.
Dawson says this is an environmentally responsible project with state of the art technology, but Sherman says the development of new mines should be avoided. "What we should say to the Indian government is instead of going into another coal mining project we should be looking at existing projects and fixing what has already been set up."