This is not the time for delays, but swift action, says Mahto on Kenduadih gas emission crisis

Mahto further said that prolonged delays could worsen health risks for residents and warned that accountability would rest with the government and administration in case of any loss of life.

Dumri legislator Jairam Mahto voiced concern over the ongoing gas leak in Dhanbad’s Kenduadih area on Monday, stressing the need for swift gas control and proper rehabilitation measures.

Dumri legislator Jairam Mahto voiced concern over the ongoing gas leak in Dhanbad’s Kenduadih area (X/Representative use)

“This is not the time for procedural delays; what is needed is swift action,” he said, speaking to media outside a fast-track court in Dhanbad, where he appeared in connection with a 2015 road blockade case.

Mahto further said that prolonged delays could worsen health risks for residents and warned that accountability would rest with the government and administration in case of any loss of life.

Raising the issue of landowners, Mahto alleged that those who had given land were being ignored and that their concerns were being sidelined.

He also criticised what he described as “the diversion of revenue from national coal resources into private hands”, calling it a matter that raised questions about democratic accountability.

Responding to allegations of corruption levelled by a local MP against the top management of a public sector coal company, Mahto said that “those facing serious allegations themselves lack the moral standing to accuse others”.

Regarding his appearance in court, Mahto said the case dates back to 2015, when he was young and had participated in an agitation near his village.

“My name, along with those of around 15 others, was deliberately included out of resentment over my active public life. Such cases are often filed by simply listing names, and that, if required, the complainant would likely be unable to identify all the accused persons mentioned in the case,” Mahto said.

The MLA is also an accused in another road blockade case registered in 2023 at Siyajori police station in Bokaro district.

This case stems from an FIR lodged on November 27, 2023, on the complaint of Ravi Kumar Anand. During a labour agitation at a Vedanta plant, protesters allegedly put up banners carrying Mahto’s photograph, resulting in the blockade of the Vedanta four-lane road and causing financial losses to the company.