Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Orissa CPI (M) seeks public hearing

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Orissa State committee of CPI (M) has asked the Collector of Malkangiri to hold public hearing on bauxite mining in the Agency area of the district.

The CPI (M) made this demand since eight of the 66 villages, which would be affected by bauxite mining in the (Visakha) Agency area are in Malkangiri district. The AP State Pollution Control Board is organising an environmental public hearing on bauxite mining at Chintapalli on October 3.

The demand for a public hearing in Orissa was made in tune with the statutory requirement and also to pre-empt any move by the AP Government to get consent by all means for the mining activity. Informing this to The Hindu, CPI (M) district secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao recalled that the AP Government while organising a public hearing on the Polavaram project, had not bothered about whether Chattisgarh and Orissa, which are also affected by the project, conducted the public hearing and reportedly told the Central Government that the exercise had been done.

Meanwhile, the party’s signature campaign against bauxite mining in the 58 villages in Andhra area is almost completed. It is covering every household in the 58 villages and obtaining signatures from all adults. This time it is going to submit individual petitions at the public hearing, following the experience at Makavarapalem and Boddavara public hearings held in the past for the Anrak and Jindal refineries.

At Makavarapalem, the officials considered the nearly1,600 petitions collected from all the affected villages as one. After the public hearing was completed the local politicians collected letters supporting the refinery, from some local villagers by influencing them, Mr. Narasinga Rao alleged. This number was a few petitions more than the 38 petitions submitted by the political parties, people’s organisations and others opposing the refineries.

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