To make the Government solve many important and long-pending problems of Girijans, the district committee of the CPI(M) is organising Girijana Garjana at Araku Valley on March 6 in which party's polit bureau member Brinda Karat will participate. State secretariat members M. Babu Rao, who is a former MP, and Ch. Narasinga Rao will also participate.
Girijans in Visakha Agency are still plagued with problems like lack of protected drinking water, roads, power and houses while the Forest Rights Act, NREGS, pattas for podu lands etc. were yet to be implemented by the Congress Government which was in power for the last 10 years, Mr. Narasinga Rao said at a press conference he addressed along with district secretary K. Lokanadham here on Tuesday.
The CPI(M) leaders said local Ministers and people's representatives of the Congress had failed to improve the lot of Girijans in spite of being ruling party members. They had more concern for themselves than for Girijans, Mr. Narasinga Rao said. The Girijan Ministers of the ruling party had done little for their people even as the threat of bauxite mining in the Agency still loomed large. Not issuing pattas in the areas where bauxite mining was proposed was an indication of Government's intention to take up bauxite mining. Permission for laterite mining was being given through backdoor method, the CPI(M) leader said.
The FR Act came into effect nine years ago but individual rights were given only over 36,000 acres and 3400 acres for community rights while four lakh acres of land was available to be given to 1.25 lakh families.
