Ranchi, May 24: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attended the 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday.
Hemant Soren while presenting his views in the NITI Aayog meeting, suggested making a provision for companies to return the land to the state government after mining by amending the Coal Bearing Area (CBA) Act.
He also demanded that the CSR fund and district mineral foundation trust (DMFT) fund of the companies be included in the priorities of the state government.
The Chief Minister, while expressing the need to give priority to the expansion of infrastructure in the strategically important sector to remove regional imbalance, urged to implement the schemes run by the central government in accordance with the states.
Hemant Soren, while emphasizing on developing a dedicated industrial mining corridor in the state, raised the demand for payment of Rs 1.4 lakh crore dues to Jharkhand from the Center.
He said that Jharkhand has an abundance of minerals and coal as well as other minerals, in the mining of which pollution and displacement have been a major factor. The state government owes Rs 1.4 lakh crore 0,435 crore for the land acquired by mining companies which comes under non-payment of land compensation, which should be provided as soon as possible and a provision should be made to return the land to the state government after mining by amending the CBA Act.
Hemant Soren demanded that the companies be held accountable for unauthorized mining in the state. He has requested the NITI Aayog to provide the special assistance given to the northeastern states to Jharkhand as well.
Hemant Soren said that the vision of a developed India is from a developed state, in which connecting developed villages is most important. The core concept of developed India is focused on poverty alleviation, women empowerment, youth skills, farmers’ development, complete education, sustainable development in the field of economic, infrastructure and technological development, for which our government is continuously working.
The state government is providing an amount of Rs 2,500 per month to about 50 lakh women for women empowerment. On this occasion, the Chief Minister suggested to NITI Aayog to expand rail operations in the state and also stressed on incorporating the CSR fund and DMFT fund of companies in the priorities of the state government.
The Chief Minister, while referring to the schemes related to social security by the Jharkhand government before the NITI Aayog, talked about the need for some changes in the criteria of the schemes run by the Central Government in this regard.
Referring to the Naxal problem, the Chief Minister said that in the year 2014, 16 districts of the state were affected by insurgency, which has now been reduced to 2 districts West Singhbhum and Latehar, yet demanded that special central assistance be implemented in all 16 districts.
Chief Minister, focusing on revenue sharing between the center and the state, said that there is a need to increase vertical development from 41% to 50%. After the implementation of GST Act from the year 2017, the revenue collection from the earlier VAT has been adversely affected for a state like Jharkhand. For the initial five years, the state has received compensation amount as per 14% protected revenue, but due to non-receipt of the amount after June 2022, the state has suffered a revenue loss of thousands of crores.
