Jharkhand CM urges Centre to clear state's Rs 1.36 trillion coal dues

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy to clear the state's coal dues "worth Rs 1.36 trillion".

Reddy assured Soren that the central government would take necessary steps to ensure payment of the outstanding dues, an official release said.

A meeting was held among senior officials of the state government, the coal ministry and Coal India Ltd in the presence of Soren and Reddy on Thursday.

The Jharkhand government presented a detailed assessment of the outstanding mineral royalty payments to the Union minister in the meeting, the release said.

"...The Union coal minister directed that central government officials collaborate with the state government to verify the authenticity of these claims," it stated.

Soren said the central and state governments need to move forward together to better manage coal mining, production, transportation, land acquisition and compensation.

The CM also said the lands on which mining operations have been completed should be returned to the Jharkhand government.

"There are many coal projects in the state, where mining work has been completed and the lands have been abandoned by the coal companies. Those are neither being transferred to the state government nor being used properly. Due to this, illegal mining is taking place in the closed mines," Soren said.

He also laid emphasis on the need to reduce the damage caused to the environment by mining activities.

Soren suggested that coal companies should take initiatives to open permanent training centres, encourage mining tourism and shift the headquarters of Coal India to Jharkhand from West Bengal.