Kerala - Kollam   

Congress plans stir on mineral mining issue

Staff Reporter

Protest against giving mining rights to private sector

KOLLAM: District Congress Committee president Sooranad Rajashekaran has said that the Congress has finalised the launch of a mass agitation in protest against the alleged moves on the part of the State Government to hand over mineral mining rights along the Kerala coast to the private sector.

At a press conference here on Saturday, he said the agitation would be announced at a convention in this connection here on October 10. The Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran would inaugurate the meet.

Mr. Rajashekaran said vast areas of land along the Kollam coast having rich mineral deposits, originally meant for the public sector Indian Rare Earths, had been earmarked for the private sector through an agreement.

Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem had said that the Government's policy was to maintain mineral mining in the public sector and the agreement in question was mischief by a section of bureaucrats during the election period.

The Minister had been saying for the past couple of months that the agreement would be cancelled, but it had not been done so far.

He alleged that the Government was dillydallying on the cancellation of the agreement since it favoured handing over mining rights to the private sector.

K. Suresh Babu, State president of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, said that the richest mineral deposit areas had been selected for being handed over to the private sector in the agreement.

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