The Forum for Better Visakha has appealed to the government, both the State and the Centre, to scrap agreements signed with Anrak Aluminium Limited (AAL) for its alumina refinery project. Agreements have been signed for supplying bauxite ore through AP Mineral Development Corporation, allotment of land for an aluminium complex in Makavarapalem mandal and a captive jetty at Rajaiahpeta near Nakkapali.
FBV convener and former IAS officer E.A.S. Sarma said in a statement that the agreements were entered into in violation of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the infringement of Schedule V to the Constitution and the ecological destruction that is involved in bauxite mining.
The recent decisions of Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) and the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) to cancel the clearances given to a similar project, Vedanta bauxite mining in Orissa and the decision now taken by the Union Ministry of Mines on cancellation of clearances for bauxite mining in Visakhapatnam district reinforce the arguments put forward on stopping all these projects.
Projects
This would include projects such as Jindal mining in Araku area in Visakhapatnam district and alumina project in Vizianagaram district.
Mr. Sarma said while the bauxite mining projects would impinge on the rights of the local tribals and destroy the ecology of the hills, they would also affect the lives of the people downstream in the plains.
The two alumina projects would divert 20 MGD of water from agriculture and drinking water availability of Vizag and its surroundings and would lead to a serious water crisis in the region, he pointed out.
