Daltonganj Khas Mahal lease renewal issue has reached Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who taking note of the grievances put up before him by the BJP MP Palamu VD Ram ordered setting up a high panel for the Khas Mahal matter to be chaired by Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma.
Giving details one of the participants of the delegation led by Palamu BJP MP VD Ram, Chhaterpur MlA Radha Krishan Kishore said, "We were together on August 17 in the Vidhan Sabha for a special session on GST bill wherein I requested the Chief Minister to hear the grievances of the Khas Mahal land users of Daltonganj and the CM was kind enough to give me appointment on August 21 at 11 am sharp."
Kishore said the 11 am appointment of this delegation with the CM failed as CM went to Chaibasa but it materialized the same evening on CM's return from Chaibasa. He said he got more time this way and did his home work much the harder way as he collected all relevant information on khas mahal land.
The delegation consisted of V D Ram R K Kishore Anand Shanker president Palamu chamber of commerce and others.
On what transpired between this delegation and the CM Kishore said the chief secretary would head the khas mahal panel now. He said request was made to the CM to allow a few selected khas mahal land users too to place their point of view on this panel. Kishore said the chief minister heard the delegation.
Kishore said the chief minister was told the enormous hardships of the khas mahal land users who have been asked to cough up minimum of 100,000 rupees to 3 crores as salaami and lagan and penalty for renewal of their expired leases.
The Chhaterpur BJP MlA Kishore said the delegation's information with regard to such sky rocketting saaami lagan and penalty when the CM heard reacted saying like this ' If a land user is to pay 80 lakhs to live there in Daltonganj then in that case the land user will love settling down in place like Ranchi and not Daltonganj where facilities give a big miss there'.
Kishore alluded to Property Act of 1882 wherein a khas mahal land user can not be termed as a trespasser even if the lease of land is expired as once a lease is entered upon between a lesse and lessor then in that event a lesse here khas mahal land user becomes a perpetual holder except for the fact that the user is to get the lease renewed for 30 years.
Dubbing slaami lagan and penalty on renewal of khas mahal lease as the last atrocious left over cruel act of the British government Kishore demanded that a pragmatic stand be taken in matter of khas mahal land lease renewal matter instead of driving the users to extreme panic fear and desperation over the renewal cost of the lease.
Kishore said V D Ram's led delegation tried to convince the chief minister to ask the Palamu administration to cold shelve sending down notices to users of khas mahal land in respect of salami lagan and penalty.
The khas mahal officer here has issued notices to those who applied for renewal of the lease or for issuing of fresh lease.
DC Palamu Ameet Kumar had months back issued an public notice asking khas mahal land users to apply for fresh lease, renewal of expired lease and in response to which users filed in their petitions which in return got notices of payment of salami lagan and penalty ranging in lakh and crores added Kishore.