Panchayati Raj Minister Dadai Dubey on Tuesday chipped in with assurance to facilitate a solution in the ongoing tussle between the State Government and all stake holders on sand quarrying. The issue embarrassed the Government after it awarded the tenders for sand quarrying to outside agencies.
“We will not allow outside agencies to snatch the livelihood of poor people who are the actual owners of sand,” said Dubey.
The Minister after making the protestors, the Sand Truck Owners Association, end their fast held a meeting with the representatives of the association and assured to make them party in the meeting that he is likely to be held with the officials of the Mines and Pollution department after two days.
“He asked for two days time to find solution to the problem and given assurance that he will solve the matter in the larger interest of the people whose livelihood is under threat due to government’s ban and accompanying crackdown,” said president of Truck Owners Association, U S Ojha.
Interestingly, Dubey is the only Minister to have opened front against the Congress-JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) led coalition government and throwing his weight behind associations who have locked horns with the government on sand quarrying.
Dubey also assured them of raising the issue in the cabinet and termed it a matter of grave concern because of the people likely to be affected in the worst case scenario. The cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held on November 28.
“The protest was called off on the condition that sand will be the first thing on cabinet’s agenda in the next meeting,” pointed out Dubey.
Notably, the association took to streets after the district administration seized hundreds of trucks for carrying sands in the capital. The issue snowballed into major controversy with the Builders Association and the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industry jumping the protest bandwagon. The Builders Association and the FJCCI criticized the state government on prohibiting sand quarrying and overlooking interest of the son of the soil.
The State Government has been at receiving ends for allegedly circumventing the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Area Act and bypassing the Gram Sabha which has been mandated by the Act to make recommendations on awarding mining lease in its area of jurisdiction. The government was forced to suspend mining tenders after statewide protests by representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions.