New Delhi/Ranchi: Ahead of the scheduled visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to poll-bound Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday requested the Centre to clear Rs.1.36 lakh crore of coal dues to the state, while the BJP alleged that the JMM-led government has failed to properly utilise Central funds.
“The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear the outstanding coal dues of Rs.1.36 lakh crore to Jharkhandis. This amount is crucial for Jharkhand,” Soren posted on X.
He also appealed to BJP MPs to facilitate clearance of the amount. “I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues,” Soren posted on X, sharing a copy of a letter to the Prime Minister.
Modi is scheduled to address two rallies in Jharkhand on November 4, while Mr Shah will address three public meetings on November 3.
Mr Soren emphasised that the dues with central PSUs, like Coal India, are “rightful” to the state and claimed that “non-clearance is causing irreparable harm to Jharkhand’s development”.
“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, the finance ministry and Niti Aayog. But till now this compensation (Rs.1.36 lakh crore) has not yet been paid,” he said.
A recent ruling by a nine-judge Supreme Court bench affirmed the state’s right to collect its mining and royalty dues.
Soren pointed out that the development of Jharkhand and essential socio-economic projects are getting hampered owing to the non-clearance of dues.
“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 and child development, clean drinking water and last mile connectivity are unable to be translated on the ground because of a lack of funds,” Soren said.
Responding to Soren’s post on the social media, the BJP on Saturday accused the JMM-led government of failing to effectively utilise over Rs.2.5 lakh crore allocated by the Central government over the past five years due to mismanagement and corruption.
“Despite receiving significant support from the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, which allocated over Rs.4.4 lakh crore since 2014 — equivalent to funding nearly 737 Chandrayaan missions or the cost of 4,510 Vande Bharat trains — the Soren government failed to utilise it properly,” the saffron party leader Gourav Vallabh alleged in a press briefing at Ranchi.
He also alleged that the Jharkhand government was neck-deep in corruption and neglected its citizens despite the state housing 40 per cent of the country’s mineral wealth.
With 42 per cent of Jharkhand’s populace aged between 15 and 59, the need for effective governance and resource utilisation is pressing, he said.
“Corruption and inefficiency have plagued the government here,” Vallabh said, urging people to show the exit door to the current regime.
“Key initiatives designed to boost infrastructure and public services have reportedly been underutilised,” he said, alleging that the Jharkhand government could spend only Rs.5,775 crores out of Rs.10,868.09 crores allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Similarly, in the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, only half of the Rs.4,327.09 crore earmarked has been utilised, he said.
Not only this, the state government failed to apply for Central funds intended for capital investment, he claimed, adding that a budget of Rs.1,000 crores was set aside for the development of key tourist centres, yet the Jharkhand government did not submit an application.
