Jharkhand CM warns of shutting coal mines over pending dues
The Jharkhand government will block coal supply if the central coal mining firms do not clear “legitimate dues” of ₹1.36 lakh crore owed to the state, chief minister Hemant Soren said.
His government is committed to ensure the state’s rights are honoured, Soren said in his closing remarks at the budget session of the assembly on Friday. He made public on Saturday his letter to the Union coal ministry, underlining that his consultations with the ministry and Niti Aayog over the issue have failed to yield results.
“The central mining PSUs (public sector units) owe the state ₹1.36 lakh crore. I want to assure the house that it is our right and we will make sure we get it. This amount is only going to increase. If the Centre does not give this to us, we have resolved to snatch it. If our rights are not honoured, we will put barricades around coal resource,” Soren said in the assembly.
