Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday lashed out at the Centre, saying the decision to go-ahead with the auction of coal mines for commercial mining ignoring the State’s concerns was a “blatant disregard of cooperative federalism”.
“The decision by the Union Coal Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office to go ahead with commercial mining and coal block auctions without acknowledging our concerns around the potential socio-economic and environmental costs and the impact on our forests and tribal population is blatant disregard of cooperative federalism,” Mr. Soren said on Twitter.
His attack came two days after the State government moved the Supreme Court challenging the virtual auction process of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining in the country.
“There is a need for fair assessment of the social and environmental impact on the huge tribal population and vast tracts of forestland of the State which are likely to be adversely affected,” the Jharkhand government said in its petition.
‘Reasonable returns unlikely’
It argued that the negative global investment climate prevailing as a result of COVID-19 was unlikely to yield reasonable returns in proportion to the value of scarce natural resources.
Jharkhand is ranked first in terms of coal reserves in India. With almost 84 billion tons of coal, it owns 26 per cent of the country ‘s coal deposit.
In a letter to Union Coal and Mining Minister Pralhad Joshi on 10 June, Mr Soren sought a six to nine-month moratorium on the auction, stating that the government should wait for a more competitive auction to ensure sustainable mineral development in the state.
“Coal and iron ore are the two most significant minerals which are found in districts that have significant forest cover and host a large proportion of tribal population.”
‘Scientific mining’
“It will be in the larger interest of people of this State if the new policy is able to attract the best foreign and domestic investors who are known to practice scientific mining through the latest technological tools. It would be extremely important to minimise the adverse impact of mining activities. It will also be our bounden duty to ensure that the subsequent distribution of wealth arising from such economic activities reaches even the most marginalised sections of our society,” the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), a network of activists, said that the commercial mining process had been started without any consultation with the people and gram sabhas. It called for mass protests against the decision of the Central Government to allow commercial coal mining.
“Gram sabhas have effectively demonstrated their ability to manage forest and forest-based products. Mahasabha firmly believes in community ownership of natural resources. Also, agricultural land and forests should not be used for any kind of mining,” said Bharat Bhushan Choudhary, a JJM convener.
