VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, April 25: The mining department of Jharkhand, which has been in the storm of controversy following the allocation of mining lease to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, has courted another controversy.
A PIL has been filed at the Jharkhand High Court against the appointment of IAS Pooja Singhal as the director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (JSMDC), who is also the secretary of the mining department as well as the industry department.
The petitioner Arup Kumar said that the IAS officer holding the post of mining secretary and the JSMDC was a case of conflict of interest and the check and balance can’t be maintained.
“There is a judgment of the Jharkhand High Court that states that the mining secretary and JSMDC director can’t be the same person for very obvious reasons. There must be a sense of propriety,” said Jharkhand High Court lawyer Rajiv Kumar who represents the petitioner.
The mining secretary has the appellate right to hear appeals against any decision of the JSMDC. “How can Pooja Singhal as mining secretary do justice and review her own order? Who will check and punish the JSMDC director for an act of omission and commission? These are the issues that we have raised in the PIL,” said Rajiv Kumar.
The JSMDC acquires and takes mining leases besides prospecting licenses and reconnaissance. It works on mines and mining rights acquired by it for crushing, quarrying, smelting, refining, dressing, marketing and preparing other value-added products from ores, metals, mineral substances, and carrying out metallurgical operations.
With 18 Executives and 270 staff, the JSMDC has a dedicated team of technical personnel like Geologists, Mines Managers, Mining Engineers, Surveyors, Draftsmen, etc. Hence it is in a position to develop any mine/mineral in a scientific, economic and systematic manner.
