Even as the State and Central governments are making efforts to take up bauxite mining in the Visakha Agency, the issue of a GO to form rehabilitation committees being the latest attempt, the CPI(M) reiterated its stand against mining and declared that it would fight tooth and nail to stop mining, which would uproot the Girijans, destroy the natural wealth of the hills and forests and cause extensive damage to environment.
Before issuing the GO on rehabilitation committees, the State Government gave consent to the Anrak company to construct a port near Nakkapalli to export the bauxite ore, had diluted the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 while preparing its rules by avoiding discussion at the Grama Sabha and its consent for mining and land acquisition and limiting the same to Mandal Praja Parishad even after the Girijans, political parties, peoples organisations and environmentalists strongly opposed bauxite mining and the public hearing was totally boycotted, CPI (M) district secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao said at a press conference here on Saturday. “People and Girijans would lay down their lives to prevent bauxite mining,” he said. District committee member G. Koteswara Rao was also present.
The party demanded that the Government cancel the agreement that the AP Mineral Development Corporation had entered into with the Anrak and Jindal companies, and stop all measures being taken to take up for mining. Mr. Narasinga Rao said the Government colluded with the Anrak company to supply the precious bauxite ore at a cheap rate. But it never made any effort to get the badly needed dedicated mines for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, he said.
The way it was acting to ensure bauxite mining would take place, would convince one that the Government was being run by the corporate companies, he said.
GO on the rehabilitation committees was a ploy to convince the Girijans but no one would forget that the R and R programme for those displaced by the Gangavaram port, SEZs, etc., had not been implemented in the full measure, the CPI (M) leader said.
