Andhra Pradesh: Centre handing over mineral wealth in tribal areas to corporates, says Brinda Karat

Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government of giving away the mineral wealth of the tribal areas to the corporate companies on a platter, CPI(M) leader and Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch national vice-president Brinda Karat on Friday said that this should be opposed tooth and nail.

Addressing a meeting organised by the Girijana Sangham at Modakondamma auditorium at Paderu on Friday, Ms. Karat said that the Centre was trying to amend the Forest Rights Act and the Environment Act to ‘provide an opportunity’ to the corporate groups on the pretext of new projects.

She alleged that during the first five years of the NDA rule, thousands of acres of land was handed over to private parties, depriving the tribal people of their livelihood.

Ms. Karat alleged that the Modi government was trying to weaken the laws made for the tribal people in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. She called upon the tribal people to organise struggles for protection of their rights like the ROFR, PESA Acts and G.O.s, which were achieved after many sacrifices.

Ms. Karat alleged Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was not opposing the ‘anti-people policies’ of the Modi government to ‘protect his own chair’.

The former MP said that a study of the Agency areas in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh had revealed that 94% of tribal people could not pursue their education during the coronavirus pandemic. She said that the State government should file a review petition on the Supreme Court judgment, which cancelled G.O. no. 3, which provides for 100% reservation to tribal people in the Agency areas. She also sought that the State government should pass a resolution in the Assembly in this regard.

She opined that it was not enough to name the district after the revolutionary freedom fighter Alluri Sitharama Raju, without taking measures to safeguard the interest of the tribal people. Though the Forest Rights Act was brought in 2006, about half of the eligible beneficiaries were not given pattas till date.

Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch leader Ch. Narasinga Rao, Girijana Sangham State vice-president K. Surendra, leaders V. Tirupati Rao, T. Ramakrishna, Lakku, Prithviraj, CITU leaders R. Sankara Rao and V. Umamaheswara Rao and Anantagiri ZPTC D. Gangaraju were among those who attended the meeting.