To
Shri Rajiv Gauba
Union Cabinet Secretary
Dear Shri Gauba,
It is reported that the Centre is forcing Jharkhand government to auction 10 valuable mineral blocks [at G2 (general) and G3 (preliminary) level of exploration] to private companies immediately, failing which it would go ahead and put them to auction.
In principle, the Centre issuing such a threat to a State government runs counter to the spirit of federalism.
More important, 12 districts in their entirety in Jharkhand (Ranchi, Khunti, Lohardagga, Gumla, Simdega, Latehar, West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Saraikela, Kharsawan, Dumka, Jamtara) and major parts of 3 districts (Palamu, Garhwa, Godda) stand notified as “Scheduled Areas” under the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, where two important protective Central nlaws, namely, Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 [PESA] and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) are applicable. Both PESA and FRA confer special rights on the local adivasi Gram Sabhas, whose prior consent is mandatory before any mineral block is to be auctioned in a Scheduled Area.
The Ministry of Mines is either blissfully unaware of the Constitutional provisions applicable to such Scheduled Areas or openly defiant of those provisions, a situation that does not reflect well on the Centre’s sensitivity and respect for enforcing those two legislations.
I am marking a copy of this letter to the Jharkhand government, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the NCST, in addition to the office of the Rashtrapati Ji for intervention.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
