The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Centre on a plea by Jharkhand government against the decision to auction 41 coal mines, including nine in the state, for commercial exploitation on the grounds that it would destroy forests and tribal culture and customs. The state also feared that auction won't fetch proper price due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices R Subhash Reddy and A S Bopanna issued notice to the Union government on the petition by the state government, represented by senior advocate F S Nariman and A M Singhvi.
The court decided to list the matter after four weeks.
In its plea, the state claimed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Act allowed only those commercial mining companies in competitive bidding process which carried out operations in India and restricted participation of global companies.
It also emphasised at the need for fair assessment of social and environmental impact on huge tribal population and vast tracts of forest land of the state and its residents.
(Published 14 July 2020, 13:13 IST)
JOIN US