Congress, AAP slam Haryana government

CHANDIGARH: The Opposition in Haryana on Saturday slammed the BJP-JJP government for allowing defaulting mineral-concession holders (mining contractors) to resume mining operations by granting relaxations for the payment of outstanding amount. Miners owe Rs 553 crore to the state government and have failed to clear the dues despite the introduction of a one-time settlement scheme, ‘Vivadon Ka Samadhan’.

As per the mines and geology department data, 38 of the 48 operational mines in state have defaulted in making payment of government dues, and operations of 13 have been suspended.

However, most suspended mines have resumed operations in the past 48 hours following the grant of relaxations, officials said. The maximum number of defaulters are in Yamunanagar (21), followed by 13 in Charkhi Dadri. Revenue collection from minerals went down drastically from ₹ 1,020 crore in 2020-21 to ₹685 crore in 2021-22 (till Feb 11, 2022), as per official records.

Former minister Karan Singh Dalal said government has compromised the interest of the state by allowing defaulting miners to resume operations.

“Instead of penalising them, why is the government willing to play along? The steep fall in revenue collections from minerals clearly indicates that the government is being soft on defaulting mining contractors,” Dalal said.

Congress MLA from Faridabad NIT, Neeraj Sharma said he had questioned the introduction of one-time settlement scheme in the state assembly. “Government is are quick to disconnect power connections of the poor if they default in payment of bill. And here, it is so magnanimous that relaxations have been given to influential mining contractors. Why is there such a huge default? And why were the miners allowed to operate mines? It is a big scam,” Sharma said.

Congress MLA from Mulana, Varun Chaudhary said mining contractors cannot be trusted to pay the dues. “There have been cases where cheques issued by mining companies were dishonoured. So, they cannot be trusted. They may be allowed to resume mining operations only when they clear their dues. This relaxation is not going to help the state exchequer and it is heavily loaded in the interest of mining companies,” he said.

AAP leader from Ambala, Chitra Sarwara accused the state government of being in an indirect collusion with the defaulting companies. “While the state is losing resources, some private companies are being allowed to siphon government revenue. Instead of recovering outstanding amount from the mining companies and finding better players, the state government is allowing the same set of defaulters to prosper and bleed the state exchequer,” Sarwara said.