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Ruckus in Haryana assembly as Congress corners BJP-JJP govt on illegal mining
The controversial lease of Dadam mining site in Bhiwani district and illegal extraction of minerals rocked the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Monday after the Congress mounted a blistering attack on the ruling BJP-JJP coalition government
The controversial lease of Dadam mining site in Bhiwani district and illegal extraction of minerals rocked the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Monday after the Congress mounted a blistering attack on the ruling BJP-JJP coalition government.
Demanding a CBI probe into the mining contract of Dadam mining hills where at least five people were killed and three injured on January 1 in a landslide incident, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda accused the state government of not catching the “big fish”.
Din prevailed in the House amid allegations and counter allegations during the near 90-minute debate on calling attention notice of Opposition MLAs who had drawn the attention of the House towards alleged illegal mining in Bhiwani district.
Hooda repeatedly sought a direct reply from the government if the probe will be handed over to the CBI or not. The Congress staged a noisy walk out from the House after Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar refused to take any decision on the issue under pressure from the Opposition.
Khattar said three different committees are already investigating the matter, including a panel set up by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
“We will not order a CBI probe under pressure from the Opposition. If required, any big decision on the matter regarding handing over the probe to a big agency will be taken after the three panels submit their reports,” Khattar said even as Congress MLAs who were on their feet demanded CBI probe.
Speaker Gian Chand Gupta had converted the adjournment motion of Congress MLAs Bharat Bhushan Batra, Aftab Ahmed, Geeta Bhukkal, Surender Panwar, Jagbir Singh Malik, Bishan Lal and Renu Bala on illegal mining in Bhiwani into a calling attention notice. MLAs Kiran Choudhry, Neeraj Sharma and Abhay Singh Chautala, who had moved the calling attention notice on the issue in question, also aired their views.
“There has been no case of organised illegal mining in Haryana. However, stray incidents of theft of minerals do come to the notice. Such incidents include transportation of minerals from the adjoining states without valid supporting documents,” Haryana mines and geology minister Mool Chand Sharma said.
The Congress said the state suffered a huge loss after the reserve price of the Dadam mining was reduced by 20% from earlier ₹115 crore. The mines minister said in the absence of bidders and even after two rounds of auction attempts at ₹115 crore reserve price, the reserve price of the auction was reduced. The mining site was auctioned for ₹92.12 crore per annum. Khattar admitted that there was a loss of ₹23 crore.
The chief minister said the government gave the mining work in Dadam to a joint venture after they made a bid of ₹115 crore.
“In this entire episode, a person named Vedpal gave his consent to do the Dadam work for ₹150 crore, but his cheque was dishonoured. After this, the work was twice auctioned but no bidders came forward to take up the work for ₹115 crore and hence, the auction became unsuccessful. After this, in the third round, the said work was auctioned for ₹92.12 crore,” he said, accepting ₹22.88 crore loss of revenue.
Khattar dismissed as “baseless allegations” of the Opposition that the lease was granted to benefit an ineligible bidder.
Speaking to the media outside the House, he said three different committees are investing in the Dadam case and that if the reports of the three committees are the same, the government will take further action.
In case the reports differ, the investigation will be handed over to some other expert agency. “The guilty will not be spared,” he added.
