The minerals that rightfully belong to the people of India are being handed over en masse to multinational corporations.
Published Apr 18, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 18, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Iron ore mining. (NMDC)
Synopsis: Chhattisgarh government, along with the Union government, has been cracking down on suspected Maoists in the state. Critics argue that this carnage is intended to terrorise the Adivasis, displace them from their lands, and hand over the mineral-rich soil beneath their feet to corporations. The Chhattisgarh government is rushing to auction off some of the highest-grade iron ore (hematite) deposits.
For nearly two decades, observers and critics have been writing that the Union and several state governments’ aggressive crackdown on tribal populations and Maoists — who support the Adivasis’ struggle for jal (water), jangal (forest), zameen (land), and izzat (dignity) — in the central Indian forests is part of a larger strategy to hand over the region’s vast and rich mineral resources to corporate interests.
From deliberately fuelling a veritable civil war among Adivasis under the name of Salwa Judum in 2005 to the present Operation Kagar — a campaign launched with the declared goal of making Chhattisgarh Maoist-free by 31 March 2026, as set by the Union home minister — a river of blood has flown through the forests of central India.
In just the past sixteen months alone, starting with the indiscriminate firing on 1 January 2024, that killed a six-month-old infant, over 400 Adivasis and Maoists have been killed by government security forces.
Critics argue — and unfolding events appear to validate — that this carnage is intended to terrorise the Adivasis, displace them from their lands, and hand over the mineral-rich soil beneath their feet to corporations.
Even as people are being gunned down like birds, security camps are being rapidly constructed across the region to protect corporate mining interests. Forces meant to guard India’s borders, such as the Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), are now stationed deep within central India.
To support the movement of troops and the transportation of extracted minerals, four-lane and six-lane roads are being built at high speed under the supervision of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Those suspected of opposing this “development” are subjected to drone surveillance, aerial bombings, massive search operations, and cold-blooded executions under the cover of fake “encounter” reports.
Adivasi students, Adivasis entering forests to collect tendu leaves or other forest produce, and even those resting in their huts or working in their fields, are being killed by security forces. Their bodies are then dressed in olive green uniforms, rifles placed beside them, and they are branded as “dangerous militants” with huge rewards on their heads.
As critics say, this entire operation is running parallel to the systematic handover of mineral resources to corporate entities.
In line with this agenda, the Chhattisgarh government is rushing to auction off some of the highest-grade iron ore (hematite) deposits in the region. On 15 January 2025, right as news of massacres in Dantewada and Kanker districts was emerging, the state’s Department of Mineral Resources initiated the auction of four iron ore blocks.
These deposits, known collectively as Bailadilla, stretch from Kirandul in Dantewada district to Gangalur in Bijapur district. The blocks — Deposit 1A, 1B, 1C, and Hahaloddi in Kanker — were put up for auction until 28 February, with 58 major domestic and international companies competing for this “blood iron”!
In the end, Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India won three of the blocks, and Rungta Steel secured one. These companies bid 154 percent to 160 percent higher than the minimum prices set by the government — an indication of just how profitable these mines are expected to be. With a lease period of 50 years, these mines are not fleeting opportunities; they are essentially Kamadhenu cows, offering endless wealth.
Until now, private companies had no entry into Bailadilla. The government-owned National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) was the sole operator. ArcelorMittal had previously sourced its required iron ore from NMDC and transported it via pipeline to Visakhapatnam.
With this auction, the company now owns its own mines.
The sizes of the blocks are staggering: Deposit 1A and 1B are each 2,100 acres, Deposit 1C is 1,976 acres, and Hahaloddi is 500 acres. In total, around 7,000 acres of dense Dandakaranya forest are about to be razed in the name of “development.”
Together, these four blocks hold nearly 300 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore. And it is well known that corporations often excavate beyond the legal limits stated in auction documents, looting even more of the earth’s resources.
Even by conservative estimates, the total value of the ore from just these four blocks at current prices is ₹1.2 lakh crore. Yet the government’s share of this wealth will be only ₹20,000 crore. In essence, this “development” scheme enables corporations to walk away with profits of more than ₹1 lakh crore, practically for free.
Previously, the Chhattisgarh government had formed a joint venture between NMDC and Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) to obtain environmental clearances for mines and handed over mining operations and mineral development activities to Adani Enterprises Ltd. The state is already home to mining giants like Ambuja, Birla, Essar, Jindal, JK Lakshmi, Lafarge, L&T, Tata, and Vedanta.
The minerals that rightfully belong to the people of India are being handed over en masse to multinational corporations. To make this possible, the government is committed to clearing out the indigenous populations. Creating a Maoist-free, Adivasi-free Chhattisgarh is exactly what that means.
This is not a problem that concerns only Adivasis or Maoists. It is a fundamental humanitarian and civilisational issue. Can a government decide and set an “auspicious time” to kill people? It’s a question of environmental justice, who owns the nation’s wealth, and the violation of laws like the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA). It’s about constitutional ideals and citizens’ rights.
It is an issue that affects us all.
(The writer is the editor of an independent, small Telugu monthly journal of society and political economy, running for the past 23 years. Views are personal. Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
