RAIPUR: Opposition parties and tribal bodies in Chhattisgarh have opposed the move for disinvestment of
National Mineral Development Corporation
(NMDC) steel plant at Nagarnar in tribal Bastar region and have urged the Centre to roll back its decision for privatisation.
In a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sarva Adivasi Samaj, Congress, Chhattisgarh Janata Congress and left parties pointed out that fifth schedule of the constitution is in force in tribal Bastar region and therefore the land cannot be handed over to private companies. According to Adivasi Mahasabha president Manish Kunjam, also a leader of CPI, the people of Bastar have handed over their fertile land for setting up a steel plant at Nagarnar by public sector National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), which has massive mining operations in the region for the last several decades. He said now the Centre is trying to handover the steel plant to private players through backdoor, a move which is totally against the interests of people of Bastar.
NMDC,
country's largest iron ore miner
, is setting up a
three million tonnes per annum
(MTPA)
integrated steel plant in Nagarnar in Bastar
. In June this year, an environment ministry panel gave clearance to a captive iron ore mine in Bastar for the plant that is expected to start trial production by mid-2017.
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