Bauxite mining issue generates heat in Agency

Bauxite mining in the Scheduled Areas, a contentious issue which has been agitating the tribal people living Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, and neighbouring Odisha, for nearly a decade, is generating heat with general elections less than a month away. People in the affected areas of Araku, Chintapalle, GK Veedhi, Sapparla, and Rampachodavaram are insisting on a firm assurance from the political parties on their stand on bauxite mining proposed by the AP Mineral Development Corporation to supply the mineral to Anrak Aluminium Ltd and Jindal South West Aluminium Ltd. “The people in the Agency areas, whose livelihood is under threat, want a categorical assurance from contesting candidates that they will not support under any circumstances any move to allow mining,” said AP Girijan Sangham leader Killo Surendra. All the projects put together with an estimated investment of Rs.25,000 crore have been facing rough weather due to strong objections by Union Minister for Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj V. Kishore Chandra Deo and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. “Though the Ministry of Tribal Affairs directed the State Government to scrap the mining leases, then Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy did not show interest to cancel the agreements.