‘Over 20,000 rakes, 33 lakh trucks…’: Soren’s ‘facts and figures’ letter to ED | Latest News India
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of having ‘falsely implicated’ him in connection with allegations of illegal mining worth ₹1,000 crore in the state’s Sahebganj district.
He claimed Ravi Kejriwal – a former member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha – had given incorrect statements at the behest of the BJP. Kejriwal has “… since then has become my sworn enemy and I would not be surprised if he has made false allegations… to settle personal scores,” the chief minister wrote.
Soren called on the Enforcement Directorate – which has summoned him for questioning this morning – to carry out a ‘fair and impartial’ investigation.
READ | ‘I am a CM, will I flee the country?’ Soren ahead of ED appearance
In a detailed letter to the ED, Soren said ‘any state endowed with natural wealth is also afflicted by curse of illegal mining… Jharkhand is no exception’.
He declared himself determined stop all such activities and that he welcomed sincere aid from the central agency in that regard.
Defending himself, Soren wrote that to cause a loss of ₹1,000 crore from mining royalties ‘over eight crore MT of stone is required to be illegally mined in Sahebganj… that is more than four times the legally mined quantity’.
He pointed out the number of trucks and rakes (to ferry the material via trains) that would be needed to transport such vast amounts of illegally mined stone.
“… in excess of 20,000 rakes or 33,00,000 trucks would be required as the capacity of each rake is about 4,000 MT and each truck is about 25 MT…”
“Apart from the impossibility of transportation, where are the crushers and ancillary logistics like tippers, etc. in Sahebganj to carry out illegal mining of four crore MT every year when legal mining is around one crore MT every year?”
Soren concluded with a withering jab, writing, “… am sure… you have not considered (above facts and figures) while alleging a scam of ₹1,000 crore’.
“I hope and trust you will reconsider your claims and refrain from making sensational statements unsubstantiated by any facts or figures…”.
Read the full text of the letter to the ED here:
