A two-day regional seminar was held in Bilaspur on 30th Nov- 1st Dec 2019 organized by, All India Forum of Forest Movements (AIFFM) Chhattisgarh–Vidarbha region, Mausam, Beyond Copenhagen Network and Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA). This seminar was aimed to bring together activists from the region primarily includes contiguous areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha and the adjoining parts of Jharkhand and Odisha.
A number of projects are based in this minerals intensive region and more are being in the pipeline. The region is rich in natural resources like metals ores, coal, mica, limestone, etc. This has given a huge base for the planning of mining projects, thermal power projects, steel and aluminum industries, coal washeries, cement factories, sponge iron units, and other ancillary units. These areas happen to be traditionally habitats of tribal communities and natural resources too.
This regional seminar was attended by 35 participants including activists, affected people, and students from these three states. This seminar had two parts, in the first part it looks into the critical aspect of energy and infrastructure, the role of financial institutions and their approach, existing people’s movements in the regions and the importance of the regional seminar. In the second part they discussed how to fight together on regional issues that are interconnected like engagement with financial institutions, using finance as a tool and hold accountable to financial institutions
Apart from this other issues of displacement, land, water, and environment have also be discussed.