Fishermen and other stakeholders in the marine sector are preparing for a long-drawn protest action to force the Union government to rethink its decision to allow mining of near and deep seas for minerals after amending the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 2002.
The Ministry of Mines had prepared a draft of the amended Act and had put it out for comments and suggestions from stakeholders. Trade unions representing the fisheries sector and other organisations involved in the sector had expressed strong views against the move.
The Centre has taken an “extremely dangerous” decision to open up the sea for mining and exploitation by monopolies. This sounds the death knell for the fisheries sector in the State. It is imperative that the government move is opposed using all resources available to fishermen, said Fisheries Coordination Committee spokesperson Charles George here.
The committee has decided to draw up a plan of protest action at its recent meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. George said. The first comprehensive meeting of all stakeholders will be held in Kochi on March 20. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Ashir Bhavan. A delegation of trade union leaders will meet ahead of the general convention on March 15, he said.
Trade unions across the political spectrum have opposed the move to allow mining of seas. Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi, Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, and Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha are among the organisations that have voiced their opposition to the government move.
Mr. George claimed that the move to mine the seas was part of the national Blue Economy plan of action, which declares that India can exploit $120-billion-worth placer minerals from seas under its jurisdiction. The minerals include ilmenite, rutile, silicon, garnet, sillimanite, and monocyte. Mining of seas will result in large-scale environmental damage, besides shutting out fishermen from their means of livelihood, he added.