VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Jan. 23: As the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now called Sahibganj DC Ramniwas Yadav, to question his role and responsibility in stopping illegal mining in his district, mining experts pointed out two important orders of the Jharkhand government stating that the DC and the SP will be held responsible for any illegal mining.
2015 batch IAS officer Ramniwas Yadav joined as Deputy Commissioner of Sahibganj in October 2020. It is alleged that the maximum illegal stone mining and transportation took place during his regime. The ED, which is investigating the illegal mining, has stated that the scam is worth over Rs. 1000 crore involving mafias, politicians, officials, businessmen and others.
Ramniwas Yadav on Monday turned up before the Ranchi zonal office of the ED for questioning. Well-placed sources confided that the ED would confront him with those two specific orders of the government that Ramniwas Yadav may find difficult to duck and deny.
The rules dealing with minor and major minerals have clearly stated that DC and SP of the concerned district followed by a hierarchy officials will be responsible for stopping illegal mining. This rule has been reiterated from time to time. Notably, in Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2004 and Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules 2017 the position of DC vis a vis illegal mining has been clearly defined leaving no scope to pass the buck on others.
On July 28 in 2010, the then Chief Secretary of Jharkhand government Ashok Kumar Singh had issued an order. Expressing concern over illegal mining the office of the Chief Secretary had stated that DC and SP of the district will be responsible to stop illegal mining of any kind of minerals, its transportation and uses. On the sub divisional level, SDO and the DSP concerned will ensure that no illegal mining takes place under their jurisdiction. Moreover, the district task force against illegal mining is headed by the DC of the concerned district.
In 2019, when Aboobacker Siddique was the secretary of the mining department he had issued a similar order while referring to the previous 2010 order of the state government. That order was related to illegal mining, transportation and usages of sands. The mining department had reiterated that DCs and SPs are solely responsible for any kind of illegal mining, transportation and usages. Strong actions must be taken against official and private persons if found involved in illegal mining or assisting the same.
Ramniwas Yadav is the first serving IAS officer who has been summoned by the federal anti-money laundering agency. Prior to this, the ED on November 18 last year had grilled Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren about the illegal stone mining in Sahibganj. The Chief Minister is learnt to have passed the buck on local officials, including Ramniwas Yadav.
The ED in Rs. 1000 crore illegal mining case filed its first chargesheet against Pankaj Mishra (MLA representative of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren), power broker Prem Prakash and one Bacchu Yadav. The ED claimed that rampant illegal mining took place in Sahibganj and stone chips and boulders were illegally transported through road and via rail.
The ED in the chargesheet stated that when a cargo ship illegally transporting stone chips met with an accident in river Ganga in March last year, Sahibganj DC gave a misleading report to hush up the accident.
