If mining rights are granted to private companies in the mineral-rich regions of the country, like Bastar in Chattisgarh, the life of Adivasis in the regions will become miserable and the environment will also suffer incalculable damage, according to Kerala Chief Minister P. Vijayan.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural of the third Adivasi Adhikar Rashtirya Manch here on Tuesday. He said that "in Bastar alone 14 companies have entered to undertake mining. In the region, the security forces are not actually fighting the Maoists but seeking to displace the Adivasis and protect the rights of corporates." He said the poor Adivasis were caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and the security forces in the region.

Remarking that Adivasis were the most exploited and most vulnerable section in the country, he said the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and the provisions under the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution were not being implemented in their true spirit and "the corporates are encroaching into their (Adivasi) areas with the help of the State Government in the name of mining and quarrying."

In a frontal assault on the Congress, he said, “The Congress has failed in its role as the major opposition party. It is reluctant to take on the BJP and therefore we (the other parties) have to take the responsibility to intensify the struggle.”

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