Row over AP nod for bauxite mining

Political parties and civil rights organisations have threatened to revive agitation against the Telugu Desam Party government’s decision to allow bauxite mining in the Eastern Ghat forest areas in Visakhapatnam district.

The Andhra Pradesh government issued an order earlier this week, permitting bauxite mining in over 3,000 acres of land in Narsipatnam forest division of the north coastal region.

Interestingly, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had vehemently opposed bauxite mining when he was in the Opposition. He had even written a letter to the governor ESL Narasimhan in 2011, seeking scrapping of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) entered with two private companies for mining bauxite. While demanding ban on bauxite mining citing environmental pollution, the TDP president had argued that the impact of mining on tribal livelihood would be disastrous.

The TDP’s U-turn on the issue after coming to power has baffled the Opposition and local tribal groups who are strongly opposed to mining. “It exposes the double standards of Naidu. It is unconstitutional and gross violation of existing rules if bauxite mining is carried out without the consent of the locals,” the Opposition YSR Congress MLA Rajanna Dora said.

However, the TDP sources said that the mining lease was being handed over to the state-owned AP Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) and that it would be asked to take necessary precautions to protect the environment and reforestation activity to substitute the loss of forests.

“We never opposed bauxite mining per se. We were only opposed to handing over the lucrative mining leases to private companies,” a TDP leader said.

The ruling party is also facing stiff resistance from its cadre in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts.