(February 2008-ongoing)
HRLN – Goa Unit has been at work in Goa since February 2008. Areas of consultancy have been in the following issues:
- Organization Planning and Development. This included developing an entry plan into Goa based on issues that include: Students for Human Rights, Impacts of Mining, Impacts of Tourism, Communalism, Minorities (Religious).
- Issues related to threatened displacement of coastal communities under frivolous pretexts.
- Contesting the establishment of large hotels with detrimental effects to local livelihoods, culture, and infrastructure requirements.
A major initiative in which Alternatives/Badayl is advising HRLN is the process to develop a strategy to contest the mining industry- a powerful economic block in Goa. Advice has been in the areas of public education, mobilization, and litigation strategies. The two major initiatives so far have been:
- Preparation of a Citizens Guide to Mining
- Developing a stand on the mining industry and its negative impacts on mining.
The Citizens Guide Book is under preparation and will provide an accessible introduction to mining for lay people. It will also include an overview of the local structure for mining in Goa, an analysis of the legal rights of mining communities and practical suggestions for action to be taken and organizations to contact. Additionally, it will be a resource for consciousness building among non-mining communities, and will be a useful media and communications tool.
The chapters include:
- overview and history of mining in Goa
- impacts on environment
- rights of workers and occupational health
- impacts on community health
- legal and regulatory framework
- rights of communities
- Goa as a whole – implications for communities living outside the mining areas
- Resource directory
Two fact finding delegations were coordinated with support from Alternatives/Badayl. In the main, these delegations studies on-the-ground issues and have agreed that given the unique problems of operating in Goa and in bringing mining communities together, the short term strategy would be twofold:
- To reach out to non-mining communities across Goa, to educate them about Goan mining and its impact on the environment (demystifying the myths) and on mining communities, through dissemination of “The Citizen’s Guide to Mining”, posters and awareness-raising events such as a “Students for Human Rights” forum on mining to take place before the end of June;
- To continue to accept ad-hoc requests from communities for assistance in mining litigation and to use the relationships so established as the basis for broader consensus building in the future.
Working with Community Groups for raising public consciousness and resistance
The delegations agreed upon the importance of bringing communities across Goa, both those involved in or affected by mining and those who do not live in mining areas, together on a shared platform. However, the unique issues associated with activism in Goa, particularly in the mining sector resulted in an agreement that H.R.L.N. should not itself create any kind of citizen’s movement, or even aim to create an umbrella forum. Rather, H.R.L.N. should continue to accept ad hoc requests for legal support and to organize around specific issues where appropriate, creating collaborative spaces (incorporating other NGOs as well as communities) from which a unified voice can emerge. Being part of any such collaboration would give H.R.L.N. access to a broad factual base and give greater authority to any discussion or negotiation with mining companies or government ministers.
Pre-litigation
Once the proposed “hot spots” have been decided upon H.R.L.N. will co-ordinate a letter writing campaign in those communities to the mining companies with copies to relevant government officials and to the Mineral Foundation and H.R.L.N. setting out breaches of applicable legislation and regulations and requesting that such breaches be rectified or other action be taken within a specific time frame. Such litigation could well be pioneering and have a long term impact on the discipline of mining industry’s elsewhere.