Press Release
12-11-2015

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) is of the opinion that both the Congress and YSRCP have no moral right to talk about exploitation of adivasi natural wealth in the Visakhapatnam Agency region. This is because when in power, their parties and leaders tried their worst to get the bauxite mined so as to hand it over to private players for a song. The TDP, of course, is the original culprit in the matter. Back in 2000, Chandrababu Naidu as Chief Minister even tried to hand over bauxite mining to a Dubai-based private company! All three political parties have a dubious track record on the bauxite issue. These parties paid no heed whatsoever to protective legislation for adivasis like PESA, Forest Rights Act of 2006 etc. We also remember the manner in which a farcical public hearing was gone through in June, 2008 for Anrak’s alumina refinery at Makavaripalem.