Ranchi: Chief Minister Hemant Soren has written a letter to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav stating that there seems to be involvement of railways and their officials in promoting illegal mining in Sahibganj and other districts of Jharkhand.
He wrote that as a part of the conspiracy, the railways has blocked the JIMMS portal of Jharkhand state. Integration of their Fios is not being done and mineral wealth is being transported illegally by rail without challan or on the basis of fake challan he said adding that in such a situation it has been decided by the state government to form a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the involvement of railway officials in illegal mining and its transportation and all other related points.
The Chief Minister has urged the Railway Minister to direct the officials of the Railways to fully cooperate with this high-level inquiry committee. Through the letter he said that the government is determined to end illegal mining from Jharkhand as after the formation of the government many steps have been taken in this regard including issuing instructions through frequent meetings, conducting intensive raids and then registering FIRs, continuous inspection by district and state level task forces, using information technology for mineral management completely online.
He further said that Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (JIMMS) system has been made effective, through which online permits, e-invoices, online payments etc. are done. The positive result of which has been seen in the form of increase in the revenue received by the state but illegal mining gets maximum cooperation from transporters because without the facility of transport no one will do illegal mining of minerals.
Integration of JIMMS system by the state government to control mining work and prevent illegal mining has been done with the VAHAN portal of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the portal for collection of toll tax / user of the Road Construction Department, as a result of which the road Proper monitoring of mineral transportation by way is being done.
The Chief Minister informed through the letter that no cooperation is being provided to the state in the efforts by the Railways to stop the transportation of illegal mining. Despite several correspondences by the State Government and its officials with the Railways, cases of transportation of mineral wealth without challan are coming to light. Railways have not integrated JIMMS portal for any other mineral resource except iron ore despite the request of the state government.
This issue has also been raised by the state government in the meetings of NITI Aayog, Eastern Zonal Council and Ministry of Coal, Government of India. Despite the personal request in the meeting with the Coal Minister, the transportation of coal is still being done by the Railways without adjustment from the JIMMS portal.
He has urged the Railway Minister that no mineral should be transported without a valid challan issued by JIMMS and for effective implementation of the Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2017.
He has also asked to instruct the concerned officer of the railway to ensure and take action to connect the FIOS system of the railway with the JIMMS portal without delay so that the state can be free from illegal mining and Jharkhand can make its valuable contribution in the development of the country.