Date | Oct 17, 2017:

Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) on Monday knocked at the doors of Raj Bhawan yet again on the issue of illegal mineral mining in the State. A delegation led by party supremo and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi met Governor Droupadi Murmu to request her to direct the government to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into all the cases of illegal mining in the State.

Though Marandi has requested investigation of all such companies, his prime target in the memorandum he handed over to the governor revolves around Shah Brothers, a partnership firm which was permitted iron ore mining in around 585 acres of land in Karampada Reserve Forest area through a lease agreement in West Singhbhum by then Bihar government in 1972 for 30 years. Marandi said that Shah Brothers and companies like this owed thousands of crores of rupees as penalty to the State government against their illegal mining.

Marandi through his memorandum has claimed a revenue loss of more than Rs 650 crores to the exchequer by Shah Brothers which excavated 39,24,529 tonnes more iron ore beyond permissible limits. He also accused the State government for paving way for the company in 2015 to take benefits of changes made in Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act by Government of India and continue mining by getting its lease term extended by 50 years from the year it got lease in 1972.

Marandi has requested the Governor to direct the government banning minors violating permissible limits of mining as directed in EC, FC or Mining Plan and to charge penalty against excessive mined mineral at its 100 percent valuation. Marandi, who had handed over a similar kind of memorandum to the Governor on October 3 last year, also said that a Jharkhand High Court single bench order favouring the company to continue its mining stood null and void after the verdict which Supreme Court of India came up with in this regard on August 2 this year.

(Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/)