Lok Satta demands allocation of mines on competitive bidding

The Lok Satta Party today demanded that the Government cancel all mining leases and allocate them afresh on international competitive bidding to save the polity from mining mafia and earn revenue for the cash-strapped Government.

Fresh mining lease agreements should earn the Government not only license fees but also a fair share of revenue. The Government should also arm itself with powers to tax windfall profits.

Talking to the media at the party headquarters, Lok Satta Party General Secretary Katari Srinivasa Rao made the demand in the context of the controversies surrounding exploitation of iron ore in Obulapuram of Anantapur district and in Bayyaram of Khammam district.

The Lok Satta leader said that successive State Governments had been leasing precious mines to parties in which they are interested without following any transparent policy. “A Government which pleads constraint of resources for funding Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and reimbursing student fees has no business to forgo revenue by handing over mines on a platter to select people. On the contrary, it is pauperizing the already poor people by promoting liquor consumption to maximize its revenue.”

The State Government can hit a jack-pot if it auctions the right to mine all minerals including iron ore, bauxite, barites and granite.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that those who minted astronomical sums of money by exploiting Government-leased mines have started dictating politics and posing a threat to democracy in States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Jarkhand.

He disclosed that Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan would soon be writing to the Prime Minister seeking a comprehensive review of the mining policy.