RANCHI: A day after PM Modi announced the auction process of coal blocks for commercial mining, with aim to achieve self sufficiency in energy and boosting industrial development in the country. The state government moved the Supreme Court challenging in on the ground that the pandemic situation wouldn’t fetch market price, and tribal would be devastated by this.
In a writ petition filed, through advocate Tapesh Kumar Singh, the government said that the auction decision is illegal, as there was no law to guide the mining activities because of the legal vacuum created by lapse of Mineral Law (Amendment) Act 2020.
The state government also alleges that union government didn’t do a fair assessment before taking decision to open the auction process, which will have adverse implications on environment as well as tribal population in the state.
The state also fears that the negative global investment climate prevailing due to Covid-19 is unlikely to fetch reasonable returns proportionate to the value of the inadequate natural resources through the impugned auctions for commercial coal mining.