BHUBANESWAR: Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Srikant Kumar Jena has urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to immediately implement Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in tribal areas.
In a letter to the chief minister, Jena has expressed concern over the blatant violation of the rules to forcibly push mining projects across the state by suppressing tribal voices.
Citing a recent incident at Nandpur in Koraput district, Jena said, officials have fabricated gram sabha meetings to facilitate Adani’s bauxite mining in Balada, despite massive protests from villagers. Similarly, the officials had also fabricated gram sabha meetings in Rayagada, Kalahandi, Sundargarh and Angul districts to favour mining projects, by sidelining local opposition, he claimed.
Jena underscored that the PESA of 1996 was enacted to empower gram sabhas in scheduled areas, ensuring that tribal communities have control over their resources and governance.
“However, despite your assurances for immediate implementation of PESA, it remains non-operational in Odisha, allowing mining operators and officials to continue this fraudulent practice unchecked,” he said.
Jena has requested the CM to suspend all gram sabha meetings related to mining and environmental approvals until PESA is fully implemented.