Centre to give green signal for bauxite mining?

VISAKHAPATNAM: 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.