Dear Friends and Mr.De Boer,

We in India are dealing with a massive new government policy to give fast track clearance to coal mining projects in Adivasi areas and degraded forests through captive coal blocks to be allocated through auctions as recently confirmed by Mr.Prakash Jaiswal, the Coal Minister of India. Mining of coal is being opened to the private sector in an unrestricted manner which would require repeal of the coal mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973. This would require dilution of provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, the Environment Protection Act, and the Forest Rights Act. These would be new mines in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh. It would also have to be seen in the context of the Human Rights impact of climate change since these new mines intend to produce 6-10 million tones of carbon annually each, and an estimated Rs.120,000 will be invested by the government to reach a target of production of one billion tones of coal a year by 2025 since coal accounts for 60% of India’s energy needs. Understanding the need for energy through thermal powered electricity generation it is necessary for affective international cooperation for implementation of the UN frame work Convention on Climate Change to be adhered to for the realization of respect for Human Rights implicated by climate change as a result of new coal mining which is going to put billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, the prime agent of global warming into the atmosphere.

In the event of 31 new open-cast coal mines being cleared within six months by the government in the Jharkhand State of Eastern India in the upper catchment and watershed of the Damodar River in Karanpura in the Districts of Hazaribagh and Chatra we have written to the Governor Of Jharkhand to immediately stop the mines. In this regard similar letters have been sent by FIAN International Human Rights Organization, Heidelberg, to the Governor, President o India and Prime Minister of India. Adivasi Koordination Germany has also written to the UN Commissioner for Human Rights requesting her to write to the Governor of Jharkhand in this regard. We the undersigned have also written to the Governor to stop the mines clearance. The letter may be seen at our website. We request that the matter is taken up for discussion at the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 7-18 December, 2009. I would be happy to hear from you with your advice.

Bulu Imam
Coordinator, Karanpura Campaign
http://sites.google.com/site/savethebarkagaonlandscape