RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, March 1: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren exercising his power under Section-3 of The Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 gave nod to formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the chairmanship of former Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice V K Gupta to investigate the role of the railway officials in illegal transportation of minerals and suggest ways of prevent it.
The tenure of one-member SIT will be for six months. Justice Gupta will get honorarium, travel allowance and other facilities equivalent to the chief justice of a high court, one assistant, one peon, one computer operator and vehicle facility for the office.
A press release of the state government explaining the background under which the decision for constitution of SIT was also issued in this regard.
“The Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2017 have been notified under Section-23 (C) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act to prevent illegal transportation of minerals in the state. According to Rule-9(1) of the notified rules, the transportation of excavated minerals by rail is also to be done only through the transport challan obtained from the JIMMS portal. In this context, several instructions have been issued for transportation of minerals with valid e-challan through the mines and geology department and various deputy commissioner/district level officials. Despite all these efforts, the government has been receiving information from various sources that large quantities of minerals are being transported through railways without valid challans. In this context, information has been sent by the deputy commissioner, Dumka regarding transportation of stone chips without permit from railway siding. Therefore, using the powers conferred under Section-3 of The Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, it has been decided by the Government of Jharkhand to appoint Chief Justice (Retd.) Jharkhand High Court Vinod Kumar Gupta as the Chairman of the one-member SIT constituted,” the press statement reads.
The Chief minister had started working in this direction in December last year. On December 14, 2022, he had written a letter to the union railway minister informing about the government’s decision to set up a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the involvement of railway officials in illegal mining and its transportation and all other related points. Through a letter, the chief minister had urged the railway minister that he should direct the officials of the Railways to fully cooperate with this high-level inquiry committee.
