Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Credit: PTI Photo
Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that coal companies did not clear the Rs 1.36 lakh crore dues despite the Supreme Court's order on mining dues, causing irreparable loss to the state and its people.
He demanded a direct debit of the amount from Coal India's account to the state of Jharkhand from the reserves in the Reserve Bank of India as was done in case of Jharkhand State Electricity Board dues to the DVC.
"In spite of provisions in the law and judicial pronouncements... Coal Companies are not making any payment... These questions have been raised at various forums, including your kind office, Finance Ministry and NITI Aayog. But till now this compensation (Rs 1.36 lakh crore) has not yet been paid.
"The State of Jharkhand is an under-developed state and there are lots of social economic development projects which are getting hampered due to non-payment of our justifiable demands," Soren wrote in the letter to Modi.
He claimed that the state with rich mineral reserves is earning a paltry sum from various fees from coal companies which are selling them off for big profits.
"This delay in payment of the just demand raised by the state has constrained me to write to you that this negligence is causing irreparable damage to Jharkhand and its people. Various social sector schemes in Education, Health, Women & Child Development, Clean Drinking Water & last mile connectivity are unable to be translated on the ground because of lack of funds," Soren said.
The chief minister said the nine-judge Supreme Court bench recently ruled in favour of the state collecting its mining and royalty dues.
"The Supreme Court, which has said in no unequivocal terms that 'royalty is a contractual (consideration) paid by lessee to lessor'," he said.
Accusing the Centre of being indifferent towards the plight of the state, Soren said the dues by coal companies were not cleared, but if state-run power companies made a slight delay in paying dues to DVC, the state was charged interest at the rate of 12 per cent and direct debit was made from the Reserve bank of India from its account for non-payment.
"This difference in policy between dues which are 'payable by us' and dues that are 'payable to us' shows a dichotomy and is arbitrary, to say the least, which puts the state in a very disadvantaged position," the letter read.
It added that if the state included the interest amount, on calculation of simple interest of 4.5 per cent on the same, Rs 510 crore per month would be added to the amount due to the state.
"And if we go by parity in terms of what was charged to the state of Jharkhand with respect to DVC dues, then the interest becomes Rs 1,100 crore per month," the CM said.
In a post on X, Soren said, "When you demand the rights of Jharkhandis, they put you in jail. But, to get our rights, we will go for any sacrifice. We are not asking for special status like the states ruled by the BJP's allies states, nor are we asking for a bigger share of the Union budget like some states. Just give us our rights, that's our demand." The chief minister said that the state demands justice, not privileges.
"The people of Jharkhand have fought a long struggle for their state, and now we want proper use of our resources and rights. We will use our outstanding amount of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to take Jharkhand on a new path of development - a development that protects the interests of our environment, tribals and every Jharkhandi community." He said the funds will be utilised for improving education and health services so that children have a bright future.
"We will better protect our language and culture so that our identity remains intact... The central government should take a decision on our rights and our money soon and should not become an obstacle in the development of Jharkhand but should become a partner," the CM said.
He added: "We will fight for our rights, no matter how many difficulties we have to face for this. It is the duty of every person born on the soil of Jharkhand to protect the nterests of his state and we will unite and raise our voice for our rights, fight and take our rights like our ancestors."