Jharkhand CM Soren urges Centre to clear ₹1.36 lakh cr in mining dues
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren reiterated the state government’s demand before the Centre to clear the ₹1.36 lakh crore due to mining entities in the state, besides seeking help in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna as 800,000 villagers are eligible for it.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren reiterated the state government’s demand before the Centre to clear the ₹1.36 lakh crore due to mining entities in the state, besides seeking help in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna as 800,000 villagers are eligible for it.
Soren appealed in his submission at the conference on ‘Left Wing Extremism’ chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah with the affected states in New Delhi on Friday.
Giving an account of the recent success in curbing the insurgency, Soren also advocated the continued deployment of paramilitary forces to battle the problem, according to an official release from the chief minister’s office (CMO).
He drew the Centre’s attention to the alleged non-cooperation by banks in lending, which, Soren said, is reflected in the poor credit deposit ratio of 45 per cent in the state against the national average of 67 per cent.
In his representation to the Union home minister, Soren said, “To ensure that the problem of extremism does not recur, development-oriented schemes must be run on a large scale in these (affected) areas, for which resources will be required from the state. In this context, I would like to draw your attention that the Centre’s mining companies owe about ₹1.36 lakh crore to the state... You are requested to issue instructions to the mining ministry to pay the dues as soon as possible.”
He stressed the need to continue the deployment of central paramilitary forces in the state to prevent the recurrence of extremism, the release stated.
The chief minister also sought fixing of the tenure of the IG of CRPF deputed in the state for at least three years to maintain continuity in anti-Naxal operations.
Soren, the first Jharkhand chief minister to visit a former Maoist hotbed ‘Budha Pahad’ bordering Chhattisgarh in about four decades, said the area was earlier beyond the reach of the state government.
“I am happy to say that with the cooperation of the central government, it has been freed from Naxalites. A police camp has been established there... After conducting an in-depth survey, an action plan has been prepared for the development of six panchayats in this area. The work of implementing the scheme has started,” he added.
Regretting that many schemes for the eradication of extremism were suddenly stopped, hampering efforts towards eradication, Soren said benefits of special central assistance with ₹30 crore aid to an affected district have been reduced to only nine districts against 16.
Stating that 800,000 eligible beneficiaries are deprived of the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, despite repeated requests to the Union ministry of rural development, Soren urged immediate action in this regard, the CMO press release stated.
Drawing the Centre’s attention to the alleged apathy of banks in lending in Jharkhand, the chief minister said Jharkhand is not receiving the expected cooperation from banks for development, which is reflected in the state’s credit deposit ratio being only 45 per cent against the national average of about 67 per cent.
“Due to this non-cooperative attitude of the banks, the people of the state are deprived of the benefits of investments worth lakhs of crores of rupees. The banks are not providing even small loan facilities to those belonging to the scheduled tribe community in the state,” he added.
Giving details of the action against Naxalism, the release said 762 Naxalites were arrested from January 2022 to August 2023, and 20 were killed in police encounters. Another 37 Naxalites surrendered, and rewards ranging from ₹1 lakh to ₹1 crore were announced for those who provided information that led to the arrest of the absconding Naxalites.
Forty-eight security camps have been established in Naxal-affected areas from January 2020 till now. These include Seraikela-Chaibasa-Khunti-Ranchi border areas, Budha Pahad, Kolhan, and Parasnath areas, the release added.