Aditya Sahu said that the issue of cess on minerals is not only related to Jharkhand, but is related to the entire country. The purpose of the amendment is to bring uniformity in the system. He said that the Central Government is trying to create a uniform system in the mineral sector. This bill does not remove the land and mineral rights of the states. He said that under the amendment, state governments can impose taxes, cess or other levies on minerals, but for this they will have to follow the terms and conditions set by the Centre.
Sahu claimed that this will not affect the states’ share in royalty, auction premium, District Mineral Foundation, National Mineral Exploration Trust and GST. The BJP leader said the bill is a step towards making the mining sector more transparent, competitive and investment friendly. This will boost investment, production, employment, infrastructure and energy security. Sahu also raised questions over the Chief Minister expressing fear of impact on schemes like Mainiyan Samman and Abua Awas.
He said that the government is showing fear of closure of these schemes to divert attention from its failures. Taking aim at the state government over the auction of mineral blocks in Jharkhand, he said that 434 mineral blocks were auctioned in the country, whereas only three blocks could be auctioned in Jharkhand. He said that 45 mineral blocks have been auctioned in Odisha and 49 in Chhattisgarh. According to him, the state government should focus on auction to increase revenue from the mineral sector.
Sahu also alleged irregularities in the DMF fund. He said that there has been an alleged embezzlement of about Rs 2,000 crore in several districts including Bokaro, Chaibasa, Ranchi, Koderma, Ramgarh and Dhanbad. He also claimed alleged irregularities of Rs 631 crore in Bokaro. However, these allegations have not been independently confirmed.
He said that students in Jharkhand are agitating over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment. At such a time, the announcement of a new movement by the Chief Minister raises the question whether the government is diverting people’s attention from the students’ issue.