Rajhmundary, September 21: Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) president K Chiranjeevi has demanded a CID probe into the illegal mining of laterite at Vantada in Prattipadu mandal of East Godavari district.
Accompanied by PRP leaders, Chiranjeevi visited Vantada, a tribal hill-top village today to study the illegal mining activity.
Later, speaking to the media, he demanded that the government cancel the lease agreement to the mining company and return the lands taken from innocent tribals. He also demanded registration of criminal cases against the benami contractors. Some ministers of the district were also involved in the illegal mining activity. The PRP would soon submit a report on illegal mining in the state to the Union Government, he said.
The mineral wealth of the state is being looted in the name of tribal development for the past seven years. Due to rampant corruption in the mining department and lethargy of the Congress government, mining mafia is ruling the roost in the state. The PRP will fight for the cause of tribals. The illegal mining issue will also be taken to the notice of chief minister K Rosaiah seeking immediate action, the PRP president said.
Earlier, interacting with the villagers, he advised them to fight against the mining mafia unitedly.
PRP district president Jyothula Nehru, MLAs Vanga Geetha, Bandaru Satyanand Rao, Pantham Gandhi Mohan, Kurasal Kannababu and other leaders accompanied Chiranjeevi during his visit. Later, he visited the Subbareddy Sagar project and left for Visakhapatnam.
–Agencies