Govt ready to suspend mining contracts for talks with Maoists: PC

Chidambaram said the Govt is looking to bring Maoists to negotiations by insisting that mining contracts be reviewed to provide royalty payments for local communities.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the Government is willing to suspend contracts with mining firms as part of efforts to persuade Maoists to give up arms and come to the negotiating table.

“We are willing to suspend all memorandums of understanding (with mining companies) until we talk to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and review them,” Chidambaram told British daily the ‘Financial Times’.

Chidambaram said the Government is looking to bring Maoists to negotiations by insisting that mining contracts be reviewed to provide royalty payments for local communities.

“The MOUs that have been signed have not been implemented. There is no law and order for them to be implemented,” he was quoted as saying in an interview published online on Thursday.

“When implemented (now) that mining company must pay a certain royalty that should be reinvested for their education and their development,” he said.

On Tuesday,Chidambaram said that the Centre was ready for talks with Maoists if they halted violence.

“My appeal to all the naxals on behalf of all the chief ministers who participated in the conference two days ago,on behalf of naxal affected states,if you abjure violence that is if you say a halt to violence,we are not asking you to do anything more,if you halt the violence we are prepared to talk to you on any matter,” Chidambaram had said after a meeting of chief minister of Naxal-affected states.

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