The trouble for Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who faces disqualification from the state Assembly membership following a recommendation from the Election Commission of India, began on February 10, when his predecessor and BJP vice-president Raghubar Das alleged at a press conference that the CM, who also holds the mining and environment portfolio, had taken a stone chips mining lease in his name.
A day later, a delegation of the BJP met Governor Ramesh Bais and submitted a complaint in form of a memorandum, seeking disqualification of Soren from the Assembly and his removal as chief minister for having violated section 9A of the Representation of People’s Act (RPA), 1951, which says being public servants, elected representatives, MLAs or MPs, cannot hold an office of profit.
The mining lease, for a 0.88 acres of land in Angara area on the outskirts of Ranchi, was given in 2021, with the mines and environment department headed by Soren giving a nod to his application.
As per the complaint filed by the BJP with the Governor, the Ranchi district mines department gave its nod to the CM’s mining lease on July 10, 2021. The chief minister then applied for environmental clearance on September 9, 2021. The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority gave its nod to the application on September 22.
Soren, in his defence, has argued that the mine on the said plot was originally granted to him on lease for 10 years on May 17, 2008. He said he had applied for renewal of the mining lease in 2018, but the application lapsed.
Soren further argued that he reapplied “sometime in 2021” when the deputy commissioner in Ranchi invited fresh applications and he was subsequently granted the lease as per procedures. However, the CM said, he did not obtain the consent to operate the mine and on February 4 this year, he applied to surrender the lease and his request was accepted by the department.
However, the complainant BJP cried foul saying it was immaterial that he surrendered the lease. Besides being a violation under section 9A of the RPA Act, the decision of the mines and the environment departments, which are headed by the chief minister himself, to grant a mining lease is also a case of administrative corruption, inviting action under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
