The Lok Satta Party on demanded that the government cancel all mining leases and allocate them afresh on international competitive bidding to save the polity from the mining mafia, and to earn revenue for the cash-strapped government.
Talking to the media at the party headquarters, Lok Satta Party General Secretary Katari Srinivas 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 their "favourite" parties without following any transparent policy.
"A government which pleads constrained resources for funding Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and reimbursing student fees has no business forgoing revenue by handing over mines on a platter to select people. On the contrary, it is pauperising the already poor people by promoting liquor consumption, to maximize its revenue."
Srinivas 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 Jharkhand.
He disclosed that Lok Satta Party president Jayaprakash Narayan would soon be writing to the PM seeking a comprehensive review of the mining policy.