Maoist movement is not over yet but the state has already started accelerating new mining projects in Central India. And people are protesting aggressively. Maoists or not, it should be amply clear to everyone now that mining is not possible here without violence any more.

But if India still needs to mine can we think of a better paradigm so people stop protesting? To find an answer I started looking at the history of mining in Chhattisgarh. Though the British Geological Survey of India did the basic scouting in the late nineteenth century, it actually started with Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singhdeo who invited geologists in 1912.

Maharaja charged 5% levy on mining till it was handed over to Independent India in 1948 in his state called Korea in what is now North Chhattisgarh. But this amount has been rising in democratic India to a dangerous proportion and has reached up to 75% today.

Though protesters talk about “state doing dirty work for companies” but if one looks at the finances the story is different. This may sound surprising but in today’s India Governments (Central and State together) take away around 75% of the wealth created from mining and companies get around 20% in current 75-5-20 model. People are getting around 5% or less (from the last 10 years only) since the idea of the District Mineral Fund (DMF) was floated.

The bureaucrat-heavy DMF hasn’t helped people much and now the people’s share needs to be raised to 30% of the profit by making them a shareholder. Like winning elections Direct Benefit Transfers need to be tried here too to win the hearts and minds of opposing tribals.

Most governments in the world keep less than 50% of wealth created from mining. Here the model should be 50-30-20 with 50% of wealth for the rest of the nation for nation building (Govt), 30% for locals and 20% for the company. From 5% of Maharaja to 75% is a big jump!

It looks like a big jump for locals too but if we look at the figures this starts looking logical. Currently the Governments are spending more than 3-4000 crores every year for fighting Maoists in places like Bastar (in absence of any clear data some calculate it to be around double of it). If the state shifts the security budget to people we can reach the magic figure.

In the time of the Maharaja of Korea when mining started here people did not have any ownership of land. But in independent India that “historic injustice has been reversed” and after the Forest Rights Act people own forest land and they should be treated as owners for wealth below the forest as well, if not legally yet but logically. It should make political sense.

Centre and State together earn around 25-30,000 crores every year from mining from Chhattisgarh. If you take out the security expenditure from it you can directly pay all the rural and non income tax paying families of South Bastar around Rs 5,000 per month as dividend.

The density is higher in North Bastar and mining areas of North Chhattisgarh but similar amounts can be given there too to each rural family in 5,10,15-25 kms radius (and to road side villages where people are affected) at reducing order as per closeness to the mines.

As per 2011 census the total population of Bastar division is 39 lakhs so if the state was spending 3-4000 crore on security that’s around 5000 per family per month and redirecting the same amount from Police to People can bring peace and mining both in the region!

These DBTs will be a share of the profit so will completely depend on the profit. So if no mining, no DBT. People protest because they got almost nothing from mining in the last 100 years. In the last 10 years DMF has also helped them very little which DBT can change.

Companies should be helping locals here because in this new model their proportion of profit remains unchanged and they get people as their allies who currently think the Govt is doing all the dirty work for the company whereas the reality demands change in the Govt share!

And people should also be working with the company because if there is no company there will be no profit and there will be no DBT. Though Mining covers less than 10% geographical area of forest regions but the amounts are much bigger in mining than forestry.

For doubling the income of each family we will also have to work on possible forestry co-operative projects like Abujhmad Mahua Union Limited (AMUL) where the profit of selling Mahua wine will go back to each family. Old style Mahua wine factories won’t help tribals.

The state is still talking about clearing Central India of Maoists by 31st March 2026. The new financial year for these forest areas will have to have new measures which helps the majority otherwise it will be the same wine in different bottles and counter-violence will come back.

This is the 15th August 1947 moment for Central India. The state should be given all the credit for it. But at the same time they need to be visionaries to make this victory long lasting. Forests of Central India will also need their 26th January 1950 moment! A new constitution?

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