Rajya Sabha MPs express concern over worsening of tribals' plight

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader Karia Munda today lamented that the plight of tribals has worsened after being displaced for development in independent India and sought a blueprint for their welfare.

Participating in a discussion on the Mines and Minerals ( Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015, he said the slogan of "sabka saath, sabka vikas" was good, but there should be a blueprint for the development of those who were being divested of their land.

Noting that the belt from Kutch to Assam which was abundant with mineral wealth is the abode of tribals, Munda, former Deputy Speaker, said the rise of Maoists was proof enough of the growing unrest due to deprivation of these people.

He wondered how much the private sector, which was increasingly getting engaged in the mines and minerals sector, would take care of the interests of tribals.

His party colleague Hukum Singh sought to know whether the original inhabitants of the land with rich mineral desposits would merely remain labourers, generation after generation.

Opposing the bill, A Sampath (CPI-M) said that with the changes in the mines and minerals law, the country would be "at the mercy" of the corporates.

Pralhad Patel (BJP) sought enhancement of punishment for illegal mining.