Visakhapatnam, Sept. 19: Non governmental organisations (NGOs) and those opposing the proposed bauxite mining in Vizag Agency are now demanding that the proposed environment public hearing by the AP Pollution Control Board on behalf of APMDC slated for October 3 at Chintapalli be postponed indefinitely till the government places the issue before the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC). Samata, an NGO that is in the forefront in opposing the mining, dashed letters to the President of India and state Governor, seeking them to direct local officials to postpone the hearing. "State government has been pushing the mining proposals in a hasty and surreptitious manner to the detriment of tribals," said Mr Ravi Rebbapragada of Samata. He said that the composition of the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) in 2000 during the Telugu Desam government's time was different from now, and therefore a TAC meeting should be convened immediately to consider the proposed bauxite mining and aluminium complexes. This is mandatory under Schedule 5 of the Constitution, he said. The CPI(M) district unit secretary, Mr Ch. Narasinga Rao said that the present situation in the agency areas was very tense as many protests had taken place against illegal construction of buildings and occupation of tribal lands in violation of the Land Transfer Act during the last few months. "Moreover the entire tribal belt in Chintapalli, the proposed site for the public hearing on October 3, is full of anti-Naxalite squads like Greyhounds, creating fear among tribal people," he observed. He further said that the gram sabha was a body created by the Constitution and was supreme in the Agency areas as per the provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act and as per the Apex Court