VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, May 13: Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan who filed a petition on behalf of the state mining department has claimed that the PIL against the Chief Minister Hemant Soren for obtaining a mining lease is not maintainable. He said that much before the PIL was filed, the CM had surrendered the lease and no mining took place in the leased area.
The DC claimed that no illegality and the violation of the rule was involved in granting a stone mining lease to Hemant Soren on an area of 0.88 acres at Angara in Ranchi.
He said that he is authorized to affirm the present affidavit and he is also well conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case.
“The grant of mining lease, therefore for any area less than 3 hectares is scrutinized at the district level and the competent authority for grant of such mining lease is Deputy Commissioner of the district. At no stage, the application is processed at the departmental level,” the affidavit said.
He claimed that the PIL filed by petitioner Shiv Shankar Sharma is vexatious and ill-motivated. He contended that the petitioner is a habitual litigant having filed a total of 10 PILs against the Chief Minister and others filed with political motives.
He said that the petitioner has concealed many facts of this case. The matter under discussion is whether there is any violation of Section 9-A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 and whether the CM has suffered any disqualification by executing the Mining Lease. The DC said that this matter is pending before the Election Commission of India and a notice has been issued to CM for a reply. He alleged that the petitioner had concealed that the CM surrendered the lease much before.
The grant of stone mining lease is governed by Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004. The process for grant of mining lease i.e. Minor Mineral Concession is prescribed under the provisions of Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004, and the procedure on any private land / raiyati land over an area less than 3 hectares is different and distinct under the Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2004. He said that the consent of the private landholders and raiyats is mandatory along with the land documents for any application for a stone mining lease over private land which is covered under the rule.
He said NOC from the various authorities like Circle Officer, Divisional Forest Officer and the clearance from the Gram Sabha is necessary for getting a letter of intent. Further, approval of the mining plan, and environmental clearance is necessary for the operation of any mine.
The DC claimed that Hemant Soren earlier got a mining lease valid for 10 years which expired in 2018. Later on, Hemant Soren on March 27, 2021, made a fresh application for the said mining lease.
The DC claimed that after due processes like consent of the raiyat the Letter of Intent was issued on March 16, 2021, and the mining was allowed for a period of five years.
But the chief minister surrendered the said mining lease with immediate effect and it was accepted by the Competent Authority under Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules on February 11,.2022.
The DC claimed that no mining took place by the time the petitioner filed the PIL and there was no mining lease in the name of CM. Hence, this stone mine did not become operational at any time after the grant of the mining lease. The DC claimed that no violation of the law took place hence the PIL doesn’t stand as true.
