Maoists issue death threat against Maharashtra minister for supporting mining in Gadchiroli

Some Maoist leaflets threatening the minister were found in the Left Wing Extremism- affected Gatta area in Maharashtra’s Gadchirolii district on Tuesday

The Maoists have issued death threats against Maharashtra minister for food and drug administration, Dharambaba Atram, warning him against his support to six new mining projects and a proposed steel plant in Gadhchiroli district, police said.

This is not the first time Dharambaba Atram has received threats from the Maoists. (Representative Image)

Some Maoist leaflets threatening the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, who represents the Sironcha assembly constituency, were found in the Left-Wing Extremist-affected Gatta area of Etapalli taluka in the district on Tuesday, said the superintendent of police (SP) of Gadchiroli, Neelotpal.

The leaflets were issued in the name of Shrinivas, the spokesman of the Western Sub-Zonal Bureau of the CPI (Maoist).

The Maoists have also threatened Atram’s daughter and his son-in-law, Rituraj Halgekar, who is working as a contractor of the Llyod Metal and Energy Ltd, and some other individuals in the area.

The Llyod Metal and Energy Ltd has been engaged in iron ore mining at Surjagarh for the past two years and is now planning to establish a large-scale steel plant near Ashti in the district.

The Maoists have opposed the mining and industries in the district, raising concerns about pollution and the exploitation of tribals and the district’s rich biodiversity, particularly its forests.

They warned the minister in the leaflets that he would face the consequence soon. They also issued a stern warning to the villagers against working in the Surajgarh iron ore mines.

It may be mentioned here that Atram was threatened by the Maoists twice during the last winter session and a few months ago for his initiatives related to mining and the steel industry in the area.

He was kidnapped by Maoists in April 1991 when he was a Congress legislator. He was held in Maoist custody for 17 days and was released only when the then Congress government freed one of the senior-most Maoist leaders, Shivanna, from Chandrapur jail.

He is now under the protection of the state government’s Z security cover.

The SP said that police have heightened vigil for the safety of the minister following the latest threats.

The Maoist leader, while condemning Atram’s stance, emphasised that mining and industries would only exploit the tribals in the district. “Most of the employees would be outsiders, and the forested regions of the district would suffer from pollution due to mining and the steel plant. The tribals stand to lose their jungles, water sources, and land in this process, without gaining anything in return,” he said in the leaflet.

Lloyd’s Metals and Energy Limited (LMEL) is currently constructing a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant in Kondseri village, near Ashti, located in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district.

The plant is expected to be commissioned by the end of this year, marking the district’s first major industrial unit.

The iron ore required for the plant will be sourced from LMEL’s mines at Surjagarh, which is approximately 100 km away. LMEL is currently extracting around 10 million tonnes of ore per month from Surjagarh.

Besides the well-known JSW Steel, 4 more companies have bagged iron ore blocks in the Surjagarh area. With a composite licence, the companies now have the requisite permits to carry out prospecting, exploration, and extract iron ore from the block.

Apart from iron ore, Ambuja Cements has emerged as a successful bidder for mining limestone in Devalmara Katepalli pocket in the district.