Expert panel to make second visit to Agency areas

The expert committee formed by the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment is making its second visit to the two areas in Visakha Agency that have been identified for bauxite mining, from December 20 to 22.

The committee is headed by former Director General of Forests J.C. Kala, who was former one-man member of the National Environment Appellate Authority, which became defunct after the National Green Act came into force; and has former Director of Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute V.N.V.K. Sastry; former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests M. Kamal Naidu and Director-General of Administrative Staff College of India (Hyderabad) S.K. Rao as its Members.

Dr. Kala and Mr. Kamal Naidu made a preliminary visit to Anantagiri and Araku mandals during October but the present visit is causing much concern to the Girijans and those worried over damage to the environment, the forests and hills of Visakha Agency endowed with rare species of flora and fauna and several streams that end up in rivers supplying water to the plain areas, even after Union Minster for Tribal Welfare V. Kishore Chandra Deo has very recently asserted here that he would go to the extent of asking the Governor to invoke his special powers to stop bauxite mining to protect the interests of Girijans.

Since a non-tribal cannot take up mining activity in the Scheduled area the task was given to AP Mineral Development Corporation which proposed to mine bauxite in 1,212 hectares for supplying the ore to Anrak Alumina for its plant being set up in Makavarapalem mandal in Visakhapatnam district and 304 hectares in Anantagiri and Araku mandals for the Jindal South West Holding Limited for its plant to be set up in Boddavara in Vizianagaram district.