Andhra Pradesh is a naxal Special Economic Zone

Jairam Ramesh sure has a sense of humour

AP is a naxal Special Economic Zone: Jairam


HYDERABAD: In a stinging indictment of the Congress-ruled state government, the Union minister and Rajya Sabha member from the state, Jairam Ramesh, said the biggest SEZ (Special Economic Zone) in Andhra Pradesh right now was the naxalite SEZ.

Naxalites were being exported from here to other states, particularly Chattisgarh, he added. The Union minister of state for commerce made these remarks while addressing a workshop on Land and Legal Assistance for the Tribals organised by the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) in the city on Thursday.

Pointing out that the root of the naxalite problem lay in land alienation, Jairam Ramesh said the state government had
failed to safeguard the tribal land. "It is a reflection on the sorry state of administration in Andhra Pradesh.

More than 50 per cent of the 72,000 tribal land-related cases were decided in favour of non-tribals," the minister observed.

"The state has failed to protect the interests of the tribals. The administration should make efforts to get the cases re-opened and ensure that the tribals' rights are protected.

One reason is that the High Court chief justice is very supportive and we have to utilise the opportunity," the Union minister said. He directed the officials of panchayat raj and rural development department to ensure that the 2,000-odd pending cases were settled in favour of the tribals.

Noting that absence of land records, missing and tampered records have became a major problem, Jairam Ramesh wanted the officials to prepare foolproof records so that the tribal lands did not fall into the hands of non-tribals.

He said a "Para-Legal Army" of young lawyers could be created to fight for the tribals' rights. The case of Kumra Manku Bai of Adilabad district should stand as a classic example in the protection of tribal lands, the Union minister said before felicitating the Gond woman who successfully fought legal battle to reclaim her land after 37 years.



Jairam ramesh wants the tribals to go to courts and wait for decades to get justice
which in most cases is denied to them. Jairam Ramesh doesn't know that Justice delayed is Justice denied.

Everybody talks about helping the people but in the end no one does.
The Maoists talk less and work more for the people.