Jharkhand Journal of Development and Management Studies XISS, Ranchi, Vol. 16, No.4, December 2018, pp. 7869-7886 DEMYSTIFYING ‘GREEN’ IN IRON MINING: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY AMONG THE HO OF JHARKHAND Rajanikant Pandey1 This study recapitulates the environmental impacts of iron mining in Noamundi, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand, to reflect upon the existing political ecology of corporate environmental management and concomitant ecological concerns and negotiations of local Ho tribe. The study recognized that, historically, Ho and their relationships with natural environment have shaped a specific indigenous mode of existence in this densely forested land. The mining development has transformed the Ho territory into a capitalistic ‘resource frontier’ by steadily changing the socio- ecological way of living. The study discusses the environmental management practices of Tata Steel, the oldest mining company in the region, to understand its role in local political ecology. It was found that the corporate environmental management discipline of the company is dedicated towards operating, achieving, and projecting the goal of so-called ‘green mining’. However, the recent pace of unregulated mining boom has irreversibly damaged the ecological associations of people with land, forest, and water. The study identifies that Ho traditional mode of existence has shown resilience and capacity to survive amidst the ecological perturbations. Furthermore, Ho has learned to negotiate with the moral politics and rhetoric surrounding corporate environmental management and ‘green mining’. This inquiry critically demystifies the corporate oxymoron of ‘green mining’ and its promises for sustainable development in Jharkhand. Keywords : Mining, Corporate Environmental Management, Land, Forest, Ho Introduction The idioms of corporate environmental management (CEM) propagated and practiced by mining corporations in order to pursue sustainable business has been a subject of discussion, more so after the implementation of Company’s Act, 2013 by the Ministry of Corporate affairs, Government of India. For this pursuit, this paper examines the political ecology of one iron mining site in Noamundi, West Singhbhumin Ho tribal region of Jharkhand, to reflect upon the ongoing negotiations of corporate environmental management practices, everyday politics of resource extraction and concomitant socio-ecological concerns of the Ho tribe. The Noamundi town portrays an interesting overlap of forests, ‘indigenes’, and minerals and provides an interesting 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Tribal Studies, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe, Ranchi-835205, Mobile No: 9971923318, E-mail: [email protected] 7869 7870 Pandey field context to understand the ecological footprints of the mining industry on tribal life over the period of time and to infer the role of extractive corporations in managing and maintaining the local environment. Against this backdrop, the present study examines the role of a ‘virtuous corporation’ Tata Steel, the oldest mining company in the region, pertaining to the environmental cost of mining. The paper firstly describes the history of mining and how it transformed the Ho territory into a capitalistic ‘resource frontier’ changing the identity of space as technocratic ‘iron-belt’. Then, the paper discusses the corporate environmental management practices of Tata steel for achieving the goal of corporate sustainability and ‘green mining’. Further, it talks about the impact of mining on local ecology and how it has been conceived and corroborated by people in terms of their ecological and economic existence. The paper towards the end identifies in how people have shown resilience and capacity to survive amidst mining perturbations in this ecological terrain and has learned to negotiate with the moral politics surrounding corporate environmental management. With this descriptive backdrop, the paper in conclusion critically demystifies the corporate oxymoron of ‘green mining’ and its potential for sustainable development in Jharkhand. Literature Review A systematic review of literature on resource extraction industry depicts that ethnographic writing on mining has a strong tradition. Anthropologists (Powdermaker, 1962; Nash, 1979; Taussig, 1980; Robinson, 1986; Simmons, 1989; Godoy, 1991; Finn, 1998; Ferguson, 1999) have variously dealt with the mining industry in the past. These efforts, however, remained at the margin of discipline and did not gain much prominence. However, today a good number of monographs (see Bainton 2010; Rajak 2011; Finn, 2012; Kirsch, 2014; Golub, 2014; Smith, 2014; Li, 2015; Jacka, 2015; O’Faircheliagh, 2015; Sawyer, 2004; Shever, 2012; Stewart and Strathern, 2014; Welker, 2014) dealing with emerging complexities of mining have appeared. The books by Dinah Rajak (2011) and Marina Welker (2014) coming from two sides of the Atlantic and representing Africa and Oceania are focusing on the emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Mining industry. New ethnographies of extraction bring the issues of environment and ecologically dependent communities promptly to the fore (Pandey, 2015). No ethnographic works have, however, explicitly focused on corporate environmental management practices in the mining industry and its impact upon local communities. The ethnographic literature on mining in the Indian context is completely silent on this issue. Demystifying ‘Green’ in Iron Mining: An Ethnographic Study 7871 D. N. Majumdar, championed the ethnographic study of the Ho and published, A Tribe in Transition (1937) followed by The Affairs of A Tribe (1950), based on his series of fieldwork in the Kolhan region of then Bihar for almost 25 years. Das Gupta (1978) presented a study of change due to industrialization among Ho of Singhbhum. Misra (1987) in a crisp monograph examined structural change among Ho’s living in Orissa (Odisha), adding a regional perspective to existing literature. There are fantastic historical writings about Ho presenting colonial past of Ho society and culture (Sen, 2011; 2017; 2018; Das Gupta, 2011). More works on the Ho describing political structure (Yorke, 1976), religion and social transformations (Verardo, 2003), forest and environment (Hebbar, 2003), forest commons and natural resource conflicts (Sareen, 2015) etc. by social scientists have also appeared. There are very few studies which deal with the Noamundi region in the context of mining. In a collaborative project on the mining industry, Choudhury and Das Gupta (1970) conducted a preliminary survey of iron ore mines like Noamundi, Barajmda, and Gua of Singhbhum region of the south Bihar (Present West Singhbhum of Jharkhand). To understand the occupational structure in the nearby villages, Barajamda and Khasjamda hamlets were studied and it was found that tribals have adopted a dual economy of industrial work in mines and agricultural work in the field to support their families (Das Gupta, 1991). Few independent researchers have reflected upon mining situations in this region in relation to Ho tribals (Areeparampil, 1999; George, 2009; 2015). The various social responsibility activities of Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) have been surveyed by Prasad and Kumar (2015) reflecting upon impact of CSR works related with health, education, environment, drinking water, infrastructure, agriculture and empowerment through culture, sports and skill training in around 46 villages of Noamundi and Jagnnathpur Block. The CSR activities of Tata Mines are widely reported in local newspapers and covered in depth by Tata’s virtual media platforms. The ideas, concept and analytical frameworks from these set of literature are weaved into the data descriptions and analysis and have also been employed throughout the discussions and conclusion of this paper. Objectives This study attempts to empirically examine the CEM practices in mining industry to discern its impact on local tribal population and how it is being perceived, contested and negotiated by local communities in everyday life. The theoretical objective of present study is to critically analyze the CEM practices to demystify the oxymoronic myth of ‘green’ in extractive industry. 7872 Pandey Methodology and sources of data In this ethnographic study, qualitative research design of understanding, interpreting and writing were primarily employed. The tools and techniques from ethnographic, environmental, business and historical modes of inquiries were used to situate this theoretical and methodological underpinning. The primary area of field study was Noamundi Community Development Block of West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand. However, the representative population for this ethnographic study comes from three Panchayats Noamundi Basti, Balijharan and Mahudi having population of 19,493 people of which around 50% is Ho indigenous tribe as per 2011 census. Gitillor village of Noamundi Basti Panchayat was decided as a major village for the present field research. The sub-villages like Noamundi Basti, Mahudi, Balijharan, Toretoppa, Mundasai, and Duccasai villages were frequently visited during the entire duration of 8 months fieldwork in the year 2016-17. Having defined the universe, theoretical sampling was applied to reach the individual informants. In total, 120 people were interviewed from Ho village affected by mining activities. The other caste communities like Muslim, Poddar, Soy, Gupta, Burman, Majhi, Tanti, Karuwa, Oraon, Bengali, Odhiya, Brahmins, Gop, Gwala, Gond, Luhara