Jharkhand/East Singhbhum: Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Rai has accused the Jharkhand government of creating confusion regarding the Saranda forest area.
Rai issued a press release on Tuesday, stating that the state government should present a clear report regarding Saranda to the public and formulate a concrete policy on environmental protection, wildlife conservation, and balancing mining activities.
He stated that iron ore mining has been taking place in Saranda since 1909, and the Forest Department had prepared three working plans for it, but no new plan was developed after 1996. He asked the government why a new working plan had not been prepared for so many years. Rai stated that in a dense forest area like Saranda, the importance of Sal trees is no less than that of steel, and therefore conservation should be a top priority.
He alleged that the government has not yet taken a decision on the 2009 proposal to declare the area as a non-violent area. He also pointed out that during the Madhu Koda government, so many mining lease applications were received that their area exceeded the total area of Saranda. Various committees and commissions of the Government of India—such as the Justice M.B. Shah Commission and the Wildlife Management Committee—submitted detailed reports on illegal mining and environmental damage in Saranda, but the government took no action on them.
Rai stated that most of the mining in Saranda was carried out by SAIL, which violated environmental regulations. He stated that mining has polluted the Karo and Koyna rivers. Rai demanded that the government issue a white paper clarifying how sustainable mining will be ensured in Saranda. He said that the state government should abandon its contradictory stance and adopt a transparent policy on the actual situation in Saranda.
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