Jogi says pvt sector will save Chhattisgarh tribals

NEW DELHI: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi resplendent in suit and tie was in town on Saturday to talk about the Rs 50,000 crore investment his state has attracted in just two years. "The challenge now before Chhattisgarh is to resolve the paradox of the richest piece of land with the poorest people,'''' he said.
However, his presentation was all about paradoxes.Jogi, who had alleged that a Rs 100 crore bribe had changed hands during the privatisation of BALCO and spoken against the sale of ''tribal'' assets has now thrown open the state''s rich mineral deposits to the private sector.
In fact, a senior officer in his entourage said that the BALCO judgement of the Supreme Court has been a great blessing because now all mines could be leased out to private parties.
The BALCO judgement set aside an earlier SC judgment that protected tribal land rights by restricting the exploitation of mines within the government and cooperative sectors ^ that too with tribal participation.
Chhattisgarh has mines of diamond, gold, bauxite, coal and iron. And Jogi, when asked whether he has plans to make tribals shareholders in mining ventures, merely said that tribals should not remain as "museum showpieces'''' and that outsiders should be encouraged to reach out to the tribals.
With justifiable pride, the CM said his state is on the road to plenty with investments pegged at Rs 50,000 crore, Rs 1100 crore spent just on roads and a hope to add 10,000 megawatts of power generation capacity.
But the state does not have a single tribal entrepreuner, admitted Jogi. In a power point presentation and a press note given out at the press conference there were no references to human development indices at all.
Even while replying to queries, he merely said the literacy rate is 66 per cent, while an official claimed that state is rid of malaria and gastroenteritis.
Jogi said he has scrapped 30 state public sector companies and insisted on less and less government in industry. But would this affect the tribals'' job prospects who might not stand a chance in the private sector? Jogi claimed that he never took the benfit of reservations personally. In fact, the CM''s own constituency, Marwahi, is reserved for scheduled tribes.
Although his government brought in a law making officials accountable for any delay in processing investment proposals, there is no assurance that while exploiting the tribals'' minerals, private corporations would give an opportunity to tribals at the top level or middle level management. Jogi merely said that he would exert moral pressure to achieve this.