Chairperson of a special committee of the Jharkhand Assembly, Mathura Mahato, on Tuesday claimed that the has given ₹200 crore to the state in exchange for the utilisation of the government land for mining.
The special committee (questions and calling attention) of the state assembly was reviewing the issues concerning mining and overburden dumping on raiyat (private landholders), government and forest lands allegedly by the coal PSUs such as BCCL, Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and various outsourcing firms operating in Dhanbad district on Tuesday.
Mahato, an MLA of the ruling JMM, said that the BCCL has not only used raiyat lands but also used government land.
“The amount for utilising the land was calculated, and it came to ₹200 crore which the BCCL accepted and deposited into the bank account of the state government,” he told a press conference here.
Mahato also stated that Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) and Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) have acknowledged that they used government land for mining purposes.
“These companies have also agreed to pay revenue to the government, a move expected to generate over ₹1,000 crore in revenue for the state government,” the assembly committee chairperson said.
He said that nearly nine months ago, Sindri MLA Chandradev Mahato had brought to the Assembly’s notice the issue of overburden dumping by an outsourcing company in Suranga. Subsequently, the Special Committee of the Legislative Assembly was constituted.
“The committee is striving to ensure that all raiyats whose land is being utilised for mining activities receive full and fair compensation in exchange for their land,” he said.
Mathura Mahato claimed that the Dhanbad district administration and BCCL have been directed to resolve the issues faced by the raiyats.
“BCCL has also acknowledged that compensation will be provided to the raiyats,” said Mathura Mahato.
Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee who is also part of the committee said that the objective of the panel is to prevent revenue losses and ensure the speedy disbursement of compensation to the raiyats.
He added that an assessment would be conducted to determine the extent of government land utilised for unauthorised mining over the past five to six decades, following which appropriate compensation would be recovered.
“Acting upon a proposal by the Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Aditya Ranjan, a decision was taken to conduct the survey using drone-based technology,” said Mahto.
“Technology to capture high-density 3D data and imagery, a highly accurate Digital Terrain Model and topographical map of the land could be generated. To expedite this process, consultations will be held with IIT (ISM) Dhanbad,” Aditya Ranjan said.
The committee further issued directives to conduct surveys of government lands that have been utilised without requisite permission by Maithon Power Limited in Nirsa, and by Tata Colliery in Sijua and Bhelatand.