Ranchi, June 24: Cutting across party lines and colours, the members of the Assembly came heavily on the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for its ?partial role? against Jharkhand.

Concluding a special debate in the Assembly on DVC?s functioning in the state, chief minister Arjun Munda accused the corporation of ignoring the interests of Jharkhand so much so that the ?pain? has now become ?unbearable? for the state. He informed the House that a meeting is slated with DVC officials on July 5 in which, he hopes, all the issues will be resolved.

?The DVC has deviated from its aims. It is ignoring the interests of Jharkhand, which constitute 70 per cent of working area. The Damodar water is going to Durgapur in West Bengal, where it is being used for irrigation but not to neighbouring places of Jharkhand,? he said.

Munda said the state had to give Rs 899 crore to the Centre as bond for outstanding payments of DVC. ?We are paying Rs 214 crore every year as interest. This is despite the fact that many PSUs owe huge amount of money to the state government,? Munda added.

During the debate, almost all the speakers demanded that the DVC headquarters be shifted to Jharkhand. ?When most of the working area falls under Jharkhand there is no meaning why the headquarters is still in Calcutta,? said Dhanbad BJP MLA Pashupati Nath Singh.

Congress MLA from Barhi Manoj Kumar Yadav said though DVC falls under his constituency, people of the area are not getting the facilities, which are supposed to be provided by the corporation.

RJD?s Girinath Singh demanded modification in the 1948 agreement following which the DVC came into existence. He alleged the DVC is ?partial? to Jharkhand. Other members including Yogeshwar Mahato, Upendranath Das and Chittaranjan Yadav also expressed similar views.

Almost all the speakers urged the government to meet the Prime Minister in this regard, for which, they offered to accompany the state delegation. Munda, however, said the all-party delegation should meet the PM only if the proposed July 5 meeting fails to provide the solution.

?During the proposed meeting we will explain the DVC officials in plain terms that Jharkhand should be given its share of benefit,? Munda informed the House.