E-Paper
'Panel finds irregularities, 267 mines were allocated flouting norms': Official
The multi-crore mining scam had come to light in September 2015, following which eight officials of the mining department were arrested.
A three-member committee constituted by the state government on the direction of Rajasthan High Court has found irregularities in the allotment of mines during the previous government’s tenure, said an official familiar with the matter.
“267 mines were allocated in a hurry by flouting norms between November 1, 2014, and January 10, 2015. In 2018, the then Lokayukta SS Kothari had also found the irregularity in the allotment,” said the official who did not want to be named.
The official said that the committee has submitted the report to the state government.
The multi-crore mining scam had come to light in September 2015, following which eight officials of the mining department, including the then principal secretary of mines Ashok Singhvi, were arrested by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Also read: Disengagement in eastern Ladakh’s Pangong Tso in full swing, may be over soon
The revelation was made following a tip-off stating that a middleman had received a bribe of ₹2.5 crore from an Udaipur-based chartered accountant on behalf of the state officials to allow quarrying at mines in Chittorgarh to a mine owner named Sher Khan.
In October 2015, the state government had revoked 601 mine allotments following the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pointed out irregularities in the allotment.
In August 2017, the High Court had ordered the state government to constitute a committee comprising at least three senior officials, not below the rank of the secretary of the state.
On the High Court’s direction, the state government constituted a three-member committee to evaluate the mine lease decisions taken between November 1, 2014, and January 2015. These included 548 Letter of Intents (LoIs) and 53 licences
