Reiterating his opposition to wanton destruction of forests and hills under the guise of development, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs V. Kishore Chandra Deo said that he would follow up with the State government to ensure no bauxite mining is taken up in the agency areas in the district.
Addressing the annual general body meeting of the district unit of the AP ST Employees Welfare Association (APSTEWA) here on Sunday, he said that the Union government’s clearances were given based on the information provided by the State government and did not in anyway give a stamp of approval for illegal activities.
Bauxite mining in the agency areas was in gross violation of the Constitution, he said. The MoU or agreements of the State government were private agreements and cannot be in violation of the provisions of the Constitution. “What is more paramount, the Constitution, Act 1 of 70 or a private agreement between the State government and a corporate?” he asked.
He urged the ST employees to write to him in case of any violation of their rights by any PSU or government agency and he promised to follow it up personally.
There is a need for taking up focused campaign on health among tribal people, especially on issues such as anaemia, former MP Midium Babu Rao said.
Chairperson TRIFED M. Suryanaik, vice-chairperson of TRIFED Bhagyalakshmi, president of district unit of APSTEWA Radhakrishna, and others were present.
