VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Nov 11: The mass revocation and restoration of licences to operate the stone crusher units in Sahibganj district by the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) in August last year is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the alleged abuse of the law.
Well placed sources in the mining department and the industry have pointed out that the JSPCB has no right to review its own order. “One can’t review his own decision. If the JSPCB revokes Consent to Operate (CTO) of any stone crusher unit it can’t review and restore it. There is a provision of appellate body to review such decisions. If the JSPCB has passed any adverse order, the affected party shall appeal before the state revenue board or the National Green Tribunal,” sources said.
The JSPCB had revoked CTO of 69 stone crusher units in the Sahibganj district in name of non -compliance of the pollution control norms. Later on, the JSPCB restored the CTO of 23 stone crusher units stating that these units complied with pollution norms after notice was sent which others failed to do. Here the JSPCB reviewed its order in the name of compliance.
But in the similar matter related to cement manufacturing company, ACC Limited when the JSPCB rejected the application of the company for grant of CTO for the captive limestone mine at Rajaranka in West Singhbhum district, the ACC appealed before the Board of Revenue.
The court of Board of Revenue comprising K Ravi Kumar (Secretary, Industry), Dr. Sanjay Kumar (PCCF) and Indu Shekhar Chaturvedi (Member, Board of Revenue) had passed the order in July 2019 in favour of the company.
Other than the ACC Cement there are a number of such cases where the orders of the JSPCB were reviewed by the designated appellate body. In 2004, Singhbhum Mineral Company had approached the Board of Revenue against the order of the JSPCB.
“Rules have systematically been ignored and abused by the JSPCB and especially in the case of Sahibganj this is very blatant. Revoking CTO today and restoring the same by next week is a usual game of corruption,” said a stone mining operator of Sahibganj whose CTO was cancelled that year.
As the ED is investigating the illegal stone mining case in Sahibganj worth Rs 1000 crore, the agency is also investigating the mass cancellation of the CTO.
It is widely alleged that the JSPCB’s action was aimed to cater to the interest of the mining lobby of the Santhal Pargana which is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate in the ongoing money-laundering probe.
Documents reveal that the JSPCB had carried out technical inspections of the stone crusher units within a record five days from 2nd November 2020 till 7th November. Many mining operators wondered whether it was physically possible for the JSPCB assessment team to visit all the sites within five days. CTO cancellation orders issued to all individual stone crusher operators, the inspection date is mentioned. In Sahibganj there are over 200 stone crusher and stone mining sites spreading over the tough terrain of the district.
