Jharkhand CM Soren writes open letter to PM Modi on non-payment of coal dues

Hours before the Election Commission is set to announce the schedule for Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly polls on Tuesday Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding clearance of Rs 136 lakhcrore in pending dues from coal companiesSoren emphasised that he is not asking for a special budget for the state but is requesting its rightful dues which he claims are causing irreparable harm to Jharkhandrsquos developmentThis outstanding amount is our right Jharkhand is not asking for a special budget We are just asking for our rightsmdashwhich we will take under all circumstances Soren posted on X sharing the open letter to the PMIn spite of provisions in the law and judicial pronouncements coal companies are not making any payment These questions have been raised at various forums including your kind office Finance Ministry and NITI Aayog But till now this compensation Rs 136 lakh crore has not yet been paid he saidA recent ruling by a ninejudge Supreme Court bench affirmed the states right to collect its mining and royalty duesSoren pointed out that Jharkhands underdevelopment is hampering essential socioeconomic projects due to these duesThe State of Jharkhand is an underdeveloped state and there are lots of social economic development projects which are getting hampered due to nonpayment of our justifiable demands Soren wroteLast month he suggested a direct debit of the owed amount from Coal Indias account to the state from the Reserve Bank of India similar to the arrangements made for Jharkhand State Electricity Board dues to the DVCThis delay in payment of the just demand raised by the state has constrained me to write to you that this negligence is causing irreparable damage to Jharkhand and its people Various social sector schemes in Education Health Women amp Child Development Clean Drinking Water amp last mile connectivity are unable to be translated on the ground because of lack of funds Soren saidEarlier he accused the central government of indifference to the states plight highlighting the disparity in treatment regarding dues If staterun power companies delay payments we face 12 per cent interest and direct debits yet coal companies dues remain unpaid he remarkedThis difference in policy between dues which are payable by us and dues that are payable to us shows a dichotomy and is arbitrary to say the least which puts the state in a very disadvantaged position he had saidSoren previously stated on X When you demand the rights of Jharkhandis they put you in jail But to get our rights we will go for any sacrifice We are not asking for special status like BJPruled states nor are we asking for a bigger share of the Union budget like some states Just give us our rights thats our demand He stressed that the people of Jharkhand want justice not privileges and that they will use the outstanding amount to drive sustainable developmentThe people of Jharkhand have fought a long struggle for their state and now we want proper use of our resources and rights We will use our outstanding amount of Rs 136 lakhcrore to take Jharkhand on a new path of development a development that protects the interests of our environment tribals and every Jharkhandi community he saidHe said the funds will be utilised for improving education and health services so that children have a bright futureWe will improve education and health services for our childrenrsquos bright future he said emphasising the importance of protecting the statersquos culture and identityWe will better protect our language and culture so that our identity remains intact The central government should take a decision on our rights and our money soon and should not become an obstacle in the development of Jharkhand but should become a partner the CM saidThe Election Commission EC is scheduled to announce the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls at a press conference at 330pm The current term of the Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26 while Jharkhands assembly term concludes on January 5 next yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever