Comments
The AP unit of the Congress Party has demanded the TDP Government to scrap the GO 97 permitting bauxite mining in Visakhapatnam district and said keeping it in abeyance is not enough.
At a press meet here on Monday, N. Raghuvira Reddy, the president of the state unit, said the so-called white paper issued by the State Government on the bauxite issue was in fact "a black paper, full of lies." To set the record straight, he said, the state unit of the Congress was releasing a factual sheet on the issue.
Admitting that the Rajasekhara Reddy Government had signed agreements with two companies for undertaking bauxite mining through the AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) and providing the ore to them for refining it and making aluminium, he said, however, that as the process was being rolled out it was realised that bauxite mining would pose a grave threat to the livelihood of tribals and the environment. "Therefore, the then Union Tribal Affairs Minister, K.C Deo, had written to the State Governor about the inviolable rights of tribals in Schedule Five areas under the Constitution. Thereafter, the Congress Government did not pursue it. We opposed mining then and we are opposing it now," he said.
He charged the Chief Minister with exerting pressure on the Union Government for getting environmental clearance for bauxite mining. He warned the State Government that the Congress party would launch an agitation, if it revived the proposal.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
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 TheHindu Businessline 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.