AP govt revokes bauxite mining lease in Visakhapatnam district

The government of Andhra Pradesh has revoked bauxite mining in a total of 1521.078 hectares of forest land in the agency area of Visakhapatnam district.

The state government has issued six Government Orders (GOs) revoking the permissions sanctioned in 2007 in connection with mining of bauxite. These GOs revoke mining of bauxite in Ananthagiri, Raktakonda, Chintapalli, Araku, Galikonda, and Jarrela villages in the agency area of Visakhapatnam district.

In 2007, Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) was granted a lease for mining of Bauxite for a period of 30 years. The two year period for starting the work ended in January 2017 and the terms of agreement could not fructify on account of the impossibility of performance due to recurring acts of violence in the area because of opposition to the prospect of mining in tribal areas.

The mining lease was granted to APMDC which in turn had signed an MoU with private parties but could not carry out the task.

The stretches and extent of land that was sanctioned earlier are -- 113.192 hectares in Ananthagiri reserve forest (RF), 152 hectares in Chintapalli RF, 93.886 in Galikonda of Ananthagiri, 617 hectares, 460 hectares and 85 hectares in Jarrela of Chintapalli aggregating to 1,520 hectares.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Pushpa Srivani has expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for keeping his word and banning bauxite mining in tribal areas.