A special investigation team (SIT) will probe the role of railway officials in the transportation of illegally mined minerals from the state, a statement issued by the Jharkhand government said. The SIT, under retired chief justice of Jharkhand High Court V K Gupta, will submit its report in six months, the statement said on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren in December 2022 alleged the involvement of railway officials in the transportation of illegally mined minerals from the state and sought the cooperation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to check it.
"A one-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate and suggest ways to prevent the role of railway officials in illegal transportation of minerals... Chief Minister Hemant Soren has decided to fix the tenure of the SIT of Vinod Kumar Gupta (Retd. Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court) to investigate and prevent the role of Railways in illegal transportation of minerals... for six months," the statement said.
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The Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2017 have been notified under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act to prevent illegal transportation of minerals in the state.
"According to Rule-9(1) of the notified rules, the transportation of excavated minerals by rail is also to be done only through the transport challan ...In this context, several instructions have been issued for transportation of minerals with valid e-challan through the Mines and Geology Department and various Deputy Commissioner/District level officials," the statement said.
Despite the efforts, information is being received from various sources that large quantities of minerals are being transported/ dispatched through Railways without valid e-Challans, it said.
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"In this context, information/data has been sent by the Deputy Commissioner, Dumka, regarding the transportation of stone chips without permit/challan from railways. The involvement of railway officials is reflected in this irregularity. Therefore, it has been decided to form a one-member SIT to investigate and suggest ways to prevent the role of railway officials in the illegal transportation of various minerals within the state," it added.
In December 2022, the chief minister in a letter to the Railway minister had alleged non-cooperation from Railways in checking transportation of illegally mined minerals despite raising the issue on various platforms, including NITI Aayog.
Soren had claimed that the Enforcement Directorate, during the investigation of illegal stone mining in Sahibganj, had alleged that more than 3,531 railway rakes from nine loading points transported stones without challan from the district. The letter mentioned that Jharkhand is bearing the brunt of illegal mining for the last several decades.
