'Bauxite mining ruinous for Girijans'

November 14, 2011 11:50 am | Updated November 16, 2021 11:57 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said he had always opposed bauxite mining as it would ruin the livelihood of Girijans. He said a majority of people, including his Cabinet colleague V. Kishore Chandra Deo, and district Minister P. Balaraju, were also of the same view on the controversial issue.

Mr. Ramesh, addressing a meeting at Hukumpeta near Paderu in the Agency, said six more districts could be declared Maoist-affected in addition to the existing two in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, he planted the millionth tree as a part of Haryali Mahotsav (tree plantation) undertaken to boost the income of Girijans and improve the environment.

He said: “It is a matter of concern that the mineral-rich tribal areas are in a state of ferment and unrest. The gap between the government and Girijans has been widening of late, which is being exploited by Maoists. There is clearly a trust deficit which we have to address,” he remarked.

Mr. Ramesh said at present 60 districts in the country were identified as Maoist-affected, including Adilabad and Khammam in the State, and six more districts, including Visakhapatnam, could be added.

The Union Minister said the naxal issue should not be viewed as a law and order problem. Programmes should be taken up to wean away Girijans from Maoists and make them partners in progress. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme should be implemented in earnest and the money allocated for Girijan programmes should not be diverted. A fresh dialogue should be initiated with Maoists to enable them return to the mainstream.

Corruption should be weeded out and steps taken to improve the trust of Girijans in the administration.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.