Explained: Issues in Hemant Soren’s mining lease-to-himself controversy in Jharkhand

On April 8, the ECI wrote to Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh seeking documents pertaining to the mining lease granted to the Chief Minister. The government sent its reply in the last week of April.

What is this issue, and when did the controversy arise?

At a press conference he addressed in February, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das released a set of documents accusing Soren of “misusing his post” to get “in-principle approval” for a stone quarrying lease in his name in Ranchi district last year.

Referring to the documents of the Mining Department that approved the lease, Das alleged violations of sections of the Representation of the People Act, and said the action would attract charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, among other laws.

What do the documents on the record say?

A document posted on the Centre’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change portal shows Soren applied for the grant of a mining lease for granite-gneiss rocks known as ‘building stones’ over an area of 0.88 acres (0.356 Ha) in Angara block of Ranchi district.

The proposed rate of production was 6,171 tonnes per year, the estimated project cost was Rs 26 lakh, the proposed plan period was 5 years, and the expected life of the mine was 5 years.

How did the events in this case unfold?

As per documents that reproduced the proceedings of the Angara gram panchayat, Soren’s application reached Ranchi District Mining Officer (DMO) on May 28, 2021 seeking a mining lease. On June 1, the DMO wrote to the Angara Circle Officer asking for some checks.

The Angara gram panchayat assembled on June 7 to give its approval for the mining. On the same day, the Angara Block Development Officer wrote to the DMO that the gram sabha had given its consent for the mining lease.

A land lease agreement was signed between Soren and nine persons of the village on March 14, 2021. In a letter dated June 16, 2021, the Ranchi DMO stated that the Ranchi Deputy Commissioner, in an order dated June 15, 2021, had issued a Letter of Intent giving ‘in-principle approval’ for the mining lease with a few conditions.

The documents also show that on September 9, the CM applied for environmental clearance for the said mine, and that the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority had given clearance by September 22.

Has Hemant Soren said anything on this issue?

He has not. However, during the hearing on April 8 of a petition filed against him on this issue, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan said that the state had committed “a mistake” in granting the lease. The AG said that it was a “violation of Code of Conduct”; however, “even if” Soren was engaged in certain businesses while he was holding the office of Minister for Mines, there was no statutory or constitutional violation.

Ranjan argued that Soren “has disassociated himself from it subsequently on 11.02.2022 by surrendering the lease”. However, the court said that the issue was “serious”, and issued notices to Soren and the state to file an affidavit. There have been no further hearings in the matter.

JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya has claimed that the mining lease given to Soren was a “renewal”, and that the leased land (0.88 acre) was declared in various affidavits to the ECI as recently as in 2019.

What has happened since Das’s press conference?

A group of leaders from the opposition BJP has approached the Governor and sought Soren’s disqualification for granting the lease to himself. The Governor wrote to the ECI under Article 192 of the Constitution for its opinion, which in turn sought mining documents from the state. On April 25, Das held another press conference, in which he alleged that the CM’s wife had got 11 acres of industrial land when the CM himself held the Industries portfolio.

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