Mineral monopoly’s murderous greed for super profits

On September 23, 2009 a 100 m chimney under construction collapsed amid heavy rain and lightning, at the BALCO plant at Korba in Chhattisgarh, trapping many workers underneath. In the rescue operations that followed over the next four days, it has been reported that 41 dead bodies were recovered, while several others were injured and are battling for their lives in hospital. Most of the killed and injured workers are reported to be from Bihar and Jharkhand.

The chimney, whose final height was planned to be 275 metres, was being constructed for a 1200 MW coal fired power plant.  BALCO presently produces 345,000 tonnes aluminium per annum. According to company officials, the thermal plant under-construction, one of two units of 600 MW each – is aimed at generating power to help BALCO achieve its target of doubling its production capacity. According to the Korba police team carrying out the investigations into the accident, poor quality of construction was to blame – 18-20 mm thick steel rods were used instead of 32 mm thickness as required. It is thus clear that the greed for super profits of the monopoly BALCO, as a result of which even basic design and construction guidelines have perhaps been ignored and safety stipulations thrown to the winds, is responsible for this tragedy. 

Following the incident, grieving families of the workers laid siege to the plant, blaming BALCO for the deaths of their dear ones. Meanwhile, it has been reported that BALCO has announced a paltry compensation package of Rs. 5 lakh for the next of kin of the  41 workers killed and the state government has also announced a compensation for those killed, but no compensation has been announced for those injured, nor has anyone been held responsible for the mishap.

BALCO was once a public sector company which was privatised by selling stake in it to the Vedanta mining monopoly group, discredited for its shady operations in many countries. This privatisation was opposed tooth and nail by the workers and many others who were opposed to the policy of liberalisation and privatisation. But the government went ahead and in 2001 sold a 51 percent stake in BALCO to Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, part of the mining group Vedanta Resources Plc, while retaining the remaining 49 percent. The big bourgeoisie, Indian and foreign have been claiming that liberalisation and privatisation is the path which would lead India to prosperity, and successive governments at the Centre have been implementing such a policy. The tragedy at BALCO once again underscores the fact that capitalists run enterprises for their own profits, not for the welfare of the rest of society. Handing over the wealth, land and labour of the people of India to private capitalists is a policy which, rather than bringing prosperity, can only bring ruin, death and devastation to the people. 

The tragedy at BALCO is also a pointer to the grave dangers that lie ahead for people in the mineral rich regions of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. The governments of these states have signed several MoUs with these mining giants and the central and state governments are extending every possible facility to them to invest in these regions. Huge areas of land have been given at throwaway prices to the Vedanta group and other big mining monopolies, to carry out their mining activities and to set up their power plants and other facilities for this purpose. The livelihood of the people as well as the environment is under great threat as a result of these activities. The tragedy underscores the need for these huge mining projects to be stopped immediately, pending a proper assessment of the displacement and loss of livelihood as well as damage to the environment. The involvement of the local people in taking all decisions regarding what kind of development is to take place there must be made obligatory.

Mazdoor Ekta Lehar extends its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the workers killed and injured. People’s Voice/ MEL holds the Vedanta group, the BALCO management and the central and state governments fully responsible for the tragedy. We demand that the guilty should be identified and punished.