Munda and Koda: Sparring partners

Ranchi, Jan. 18: Chief minister Madhu Koda has invited the ire of Opposition leader Arjun Munda for not attending a crucial meeting the coal ministry had called to discuss illegal mining.

Munda, who attended the meeting, alleged that Koda avoided the meeting because he was shielding the coal mafia and smugglers. How come Koda didn’t attend the meeting though he was present in Delhi? asked Munda.

Resident Commissioner Rajiv Gauba, stationed in Delhi, represented the state government at the meeting attended by chiefs of various coal companies and senior officials of the coal ministry. Union minister of state for coal Narayan Dasari Rao presided over the meeting.

Demanding a CBI probe into illegal coal mining, Munda said at the meeting that some 7,000 holograms — used as permits to carry the coal — are missing from the government chest. Demanding the retail sale of coal, he said cooperatives should be formed to regularise mining. “If illegal mining is allowed to continue at this rate, coal deposits would be exhausted in five years,” he said.

Sources in the chief minister’s office said Koda had other pressing engagements, the important being a meeting with the chairman of the Delimitation Commission. “Moreover, a minister of state was holding the meeting. So, it was not necessary for the chief minister to attend the meeting. He had been invited because he also happened to hold the portfolio of mines and geology,” said a CMO spokesman.

Resident Commissioner Gauba said the state government has assured all assistance to the coal companies to check illegal mining. He pointed out that the state has decided to commission a study by XLRI and ISM, Dhanbad, which will focus on socio-economic aspects of those engaged in illegal mining and also measures to check the practice. The study will also explore possibilities of forming cooperatives, he added.