Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has assured the tribal people that he will not take any action that will be detrimental to their interests, thus making it clear that he is against bauxite mining in the Agency area.
Mr. Naidu was addressing the tribal people at the Grama Darshini programme at Adarimetta village of Chintalaveedhi panchayat in Paderu mandal here on Thursday.
Referring to the issue, the Chief Minister said it was the Congress government that had given permission to mine bauxite in the Agency areas of the district.
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‘False campaign’
“I had cancelled the permission. Later, the leaseholder had approached the international court (International Court of Justice), seeking that the agreement be honoured,” he told the people.
“A false campaign is being carried out against me that he is in favour of bauxite mining and sacrificing the interests of the tribal people,” Mr. Naidu alleged, and assured the people that he would not go against their interests, come what may.
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In this context, Mr. Naidu listed the welfare schemes launched by his government in the last four years such as provision of rice at ₹5 a kg, nutritious food to children, pensions, Chandranna Bima, and Chandranna Pelli Kanuka, and development works such as septic latrines, CC roads, and LED bulbs in the tribal areas.
Highway planned
Mr. Naidu said a highway was being planned from Kakinada to Vizianagaram through the Agency area to provide better mobility to the tribal areas. Expressing satisfaction at some youth taking his pictures on their cellphones, he said: “Soon, you will get fibre connectivity, through which you can watch films on TV, browse Internet, and hold video conference with your friends and relatives living in other places.” Mr. Naidu spoke about the efforts being made to promote tourism, coffee cultivation, and commercial crops in the tribal areas. Earlier, the Chief Minister interacted with the people of the village and sought their opinion on implementation of various schemes. He enquired with the Sadhikara Mitras, MPDOs and panchayat secretaries the activities being taken up by them in their respective areas, and cross-checked their claims by posing questions to the villagers.
The Chief Minister, who arrived at Adarimetta by a chopper at around 11.30 a.m., spent about an hour going round the village. Tribal artistes welcomed him with traditional performances such as dhimsa and tiger dance.