The State BJP unit on Wednesday once again raised the issue of auction of iron ore of Thakurani mines in Chaibasa district. The State Government had already issued a tender for e-auction of 101723.6 tonnes of iron ore lumps and fines from Thakurani mine. Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation issued the tender on June 8.
Raising the issue, State BJP president cum Rajya Sabha MP Deepak Prakash said that Jharkhand is abound with rich mineral wealth, along with it is a big source for the economic development of the country. Instead of judicious use of State’s mineral wealth, it is being smuggled and this illegal trade practice has gone up after the UPA Government came to power in the State.
Prakash said that in Thakurani mines, the grading of iron ore has been manipulated, which has resulted in loss of money worth crores to the State government exchequer. The BJP delegation in this connection has already submitted a memorandum to the Governor seeking his intervention on illegal practices.
According to Prakash, iron ore lease at Thakurani Mines in 84.6 acres of West Singhbhum was given to Pawan Kumar Jain. In 2019, the State government cancelled the lease of this mine. Earlier in 2017, the Supreme Court had asked to impose fines on 347 mines for mining more than permitted. Jain was also fined Rs 334.47 crore. In the meantime, the State government cancelled the lease of this mine and ordered its closure. The court then asked to sell the stock already left to recover the fine amount. After that the game started.
“For grading of iron ore, the State Mineral Development Corporation sent its sample to Hazaribagh Lab on 30.5.2021 (Sunday). The report came in less than 12 hours which is suspicious. This testing takes a long time. In the hasty testing, the Mineral Corporation was told in the report that its grading should be kept from 35 to 50 per cent. Whereas former leaseholder Pawan Kumar Jain had informed IBM about 60-65 per cent iron ore,” he said.
“The mining department (Jharkhand government) also in its report had said iron ore presence to 64 per cent. Even in 2020, the DC had given 65 per cent iron ore information in its report. In such a situation, there will be a loss of crores from the auction to be done from the fraud grading report of Mineral Development Corporation. Auction of 101723.6 tonnes of iron ore will result in a loss of at least Rs 40 crore. The goods which will be sold by Jharkhand State Mineral Corporation will be sold at a lower price. There is connivance of the local DMO, Director (Mines). There is also political patronage in the matter,” Prakash added.
“The auction of Thakurani Mines will not only result in loss of revenue, but will also increase illegal mining in the State. Many iron ore mines are closed in the State, and they have to be auctioned again. In such a situation, the State will get money on the basis of the goods sold by the Mineral Corporation. Due to less money in the auction, the government will face a loss of up to 300-400 crores. In the coming days, BJP will agitate on the issue,” said the MP.