In an interaction with a group of editors on September 6, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "if we are not allowed to exploit the mineral resources of this country, I think the growth path of this country could be adversely affected." At the same time, he also stressed: "We must adequately ensure that whether it is tribal rights, environmental concerns or forest concerns, they are given their appropriate place. But at the same time there has to be a balance. You cannot protect the environment of this country by perpetuating poverty."

When asked if his calling for a balance was in the light of the recently suspended London-based Vedanta's permissiona company that proposed to invest $8 bn in the projectto mine bauxite in Orissa, he said that he was speaking in general terms. Aside from his observation, even the growing militancy of those dispossessed of their land, particularly the forest-dwelling tribals and cultivators of the central India which is the heart of India's mineral wealth, duly aided by Naxalites, demands an early answer to this troubling question: How to strike a balance between protecting the interests of tribal societies/the displaced people and ensuring economic development?

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