Centre to give green signal for bauxite mining?

Tribal people and non-government organisations in the district are apprehensive that the bauxite mining project will be cleared by the environment and forests without a proper study on the impact in Anantagiri and Araku mandals in the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam district.Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute's former director VN Sastry and director general of Administrative Staff College of India SK Rao, part of a fourmember team set up by the Union ministry of environment and forests, was to visit the areas this month and submit a report on the implications of bauxite mining on tribals and other stakeholders, the visit has not materialised so far, fuelling speculation that it may not take place at all.The NGOs wonder if the twomember team would visit the areas at all as the other two members had already visited the area in October. The two members, former directorgeneral of forests and former chairman of National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) JC Kala and former principal chief conservator of forests M Kamala Naidu, made a secret visit to Araku and Anantagiri on October 10 and 11.

Sources said JC Kala and M Kamala Naidu visited Rattakonda, Gaalikonda and a few other hilly areas where the Andhra Pradesh Mining Development Corporation (APMDC) sought permission for mining the deposits of bauxite for supply to the proposed Jindal South West Holding Limited's aluminium refinery at Boddavaram in S.Kota mandal in Vizianagaram district. The government is planning to conduct a public hearing on bauxite mining either in December or in January.According to highly placed sources, the government is preparing plans to take up developmental works in tribal villages within the 8km radius of the Jerrela reserves as the villages will be affected by mining. The bauxite ore from Jerrela deposits will be supplied to Anrak Alumina Company through APMDC and the ore from Araku to the Jindal company.

Mining lobbyConvener of Forum for Better Visakha and former secretary in the Union ministry of power EAS Sarma said the Union ministry of mines had suspended the bauxite mining leases last year but the government was trying to revive them under pressure from the mining lobby. He claimed that the work on the alumina refinery of Anrak Aluminium Limited at Rachapalle village in Makavarapalem mandal was going apace.

Anrak Aluminium Limited is a joint venture between Ras alKhaimah and the Penna group of industries and has clearance for bauxite mining through APMDC.It has obtained environmental clearance but is yet to get forest clearance. Sarma said the committee may have submitted its report to MoEF without conducting a study.Secret visitCPM district secretary Ch Narasinga Rao said the secrecy of the visit of two members of the 4member committee to the areas where bauxite is sought to be mined was raising the suspicion whether the MoEF had aleady received a report and gave a green signal for bauxite mining. He said tribal people had been opposing bauxite mining on the ground that it would hit their livelihood and damage the environment. The government signed MoUs with Jindal and Anrak for supply of bauxite ore to the two companies. He said Union minister for tribal welfare Kishore Chandra Deo assured that he would take steps to stop the proposed bauxite mining but a committee was sent secretly to conduct a survey, Rao alleged.