March 2, 2015
Exploitation of tribals must be prevented: Saugata Roy on Mines & Minerals Ordinance
Saugata Roy slammed the Central Government today over the Mines and Minerals Ordinance in Lok Sabha, calling it ‘anti-tribal’.
Saugata Roy, who is also a signatory to the Statutory Resolution disapproving the Ordinance, said, “I feel the Government is actually playing with the process of the legislation.”
He mentioned that the Ordinance was not a mere piece of legislation but impacts the of socio-economic aspect of the life and culture of the poor tribal people.
“The strange thing is that places which are mineral rich, the people are abysmally poor. No exploration, no exploitation should be allowed which does not improve the condition of the people living in these areas. This should prove the bedrock of all our policies on mineral exploration”, said Saugata Roy.
He also disapproved of the amemdment in increase of number of years of lease from 30 years to 50 years marking it as a gimmick to entice the
MNCs into the auction procedure, only further leading to decline in quality of life of the tribal groups in the vicinity.
Click here for the complete transcript of the speech.
