Calling Dhanbad district a “hotbed” of gangs indulging in illicit coal trade, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notice to Jharkhand Government over economic hardships faced by tribals and “illegal mining” in the Naxal-affected area.

The Commission said that “abject poverty” was the reason behind spread of Naxalism in the region.

Regarding mining, the NHRC said that gangs were recruiting local tribals to illegally mine coal and pointed out the inadequate response to the threat posed by underground coal fires in the region.

‘Games organisers toeing company line'

There were fresh calls on Thursday for an independent inquiry into Dow Chemical's controversial sponsorship of the London Olympics after Meredith Alexander, a leading environmentalist, resigned from the Games' ethics committee — the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 — protesting against Dow's links with the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster and accusing the organisers of “toeing” the company's line.

Health facilities, adequate compensation must be provided

Taking a serious note of the increasing silicosis-related deaths in the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that silicosis be made a notifiable disease. Once notified, all government and private health facilities will have to report confirmed as well as suspected silicosis cases to the government.

The successfully concluded $8.48-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal has come “under cloud” following instances of serious human rights violations, default of payment, environmental damage in its mining and metal projects in India, as pointed by the Internal Security section of the Home Ministry against Vedanta and its group of companies.

‘Governments snatching lands without consent of gram sabhas'

Noted social activist Medha Patkar has alleged that indiscriminate acquisition of farm and forest lands by the governments in the name of development without the approval of the ‘gram sabhas' concerned amounted to snatching the livelihood of weaker sections, mainly Adivasis.