No bauxite mining will be permitted in the Eastern Ghats of Visakhapatnam district, inhabited by Girijans and popularly known as the agency area, according to Union Ministers, Mr Jairam Ramesh and Mr Kishore Chandra Deo.
The two ministers gave the assurance at a public meeting at Chintapalli in the district on Saturday, after launching the daily requirement (DR) depot scheme of the Girijan Co-operative Corporation (GCC). The proposed bauxite mining in the area is agitating the Girijans and environmental activists and others, who are apprehensive that the mining will not only ruin the livelihood of tribals but also wreak havoc on the environment.
The Ministers said said that they would not allow bauxite mining in the area, as long as they remained in the Union Cabinet. They said there need not be any apprehensions on the count.
Mr Ramesh said the Maoists operating in the area should lay down arms and join the mainstream politics to achieve their objectives. Mr Kishore Chandra Deo said the Union Government was spending as much as Rs 1 lakh crore on tribal welfare and in AP alone Rs 15,000 crore was being spent. Special schemes to educate Girijans were also being taken up, he added.