BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Thursday demanded that the state government convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issue of displacement of tribal people in the name of industrialisation.
A delegation of Congress leaders led by state president Bhakta Charan Das submitted a memorandum to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on the issue. The memorandum also demanded that necessary amendments be made in the CSR rules to ensure that companies setting up industries in tribal areas spend one-third of their profit on rehabilitation, resettlement and compensation for the displaced people.
The party also sought strict implementation of PESA Act-1996, Forest Rights Act-2006 and LARR Act-2013 before commencement of any project. Alleging that at many instances, consent of Gram Sabha for mining in tribal areas are being fabricated in favour of the industries, the memorandum said such a move in Sijimali, Kutrumali and other areas of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts have led to conflicts between tribal people and corporate-police-administration nexus.