Deo Raises Issues Concerning Tribal People Pune: Corporate interests in mining pose the biggest threat to tribal communities, which has triggered an upsurge in left-wing extremism in certain areas, Union minister for tribal affairs V Kishore Chandra Deo said here on Tuesday. “The issue of mining by corporations in scheduled areas is the biggest challenge or threat that is looming large for the tribal communities today,” Deo said. He was speaking at a national consultation on skill development for sustainable livelihood of tribal communities, organised by the ministry of tribal affairs and the United Nations Development Programme. Deo said there had been a resurgence of Maoist activities in some tribal areas where corporations have mining interests. He appealed to the corporate world not to contravene constitutional provisions in this regard. Citing an example, he said that there have been media reports of companies sending large sums of money for mining in Chhattisgarh. “They should also be held equally responsible for the upsurge in extremist activities,” Deo told journalists on the sidelines of the event. He said that the Constitution protects the natural resources in Schedule V and Schedule VI areas, restricting the rights to buy or lease lands in these areas to tribal communities. “How can a company, which is neither owned nor controlled by scheduled tribes, take mining leases or buy land in these areas?” he said. He also said that there was a need for greater transparency in the corporate social responsibility initiatives of corporations. Left-wing extremism is not merely a law-and-order problem, he said, adding that it was well known that the story of the tribals in the heartland has been one of exploitation, deprivation and lack of development. Maharashtra’s minister for tribal development Madhukar Pichad said the state government would try to allocate more funds to ensure development in tribal areas such as Gadchiroli. He said that undertaking development projects in these areas was difficult because of the activities of left-wing extremists. Efforts are being made to decentralise decisionmaking powers to the commissioners and project officers for better implementation, he added.