Express News Service
RANCHI: Who has caused troubles for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the disqualification row? Is it former BJP Chief Minister Raghubar Das who in February this year accused Soren of violating The Representation of the People Act,1951? No.
It was Ranchi-based RTI activist Sunil Mahto. He had written to the Governor, Prime Minister and the President on Jan 20 this year, asking them to take action against Soren. Mahto says nothing happened to his complaint. However, Governor Ramesh Bais acted after Raghubar Das visited him and took up the alleged ‘office of profit case’ against him (granting a mining lease to himself).
RTI activist Sunil MahtoThe RTI activist says Soren was trying to get the mining lease from 2018 in violation of laws on tribal land ownership rights. “The process gained speed last year after the Covid pandemic,” he says. Mahto says he had to work hard to collect “evidence” against Soren as none of the documents related to the lease granted to Soren was available on the state government’s portal. “All such information was deleted,” he said.
“Soren had a crusher business beginning 2007. They started acquiring land on lease by violating Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, giving wrong address and a shorter name of his father,” says Mahto. “I filed a complaint in 2018 with the local administration, but nothing happened,” recalls Mahto.
After becoming Chief Minister in 2019, Soren’s team again started the process in 2021. They purchased stamp paper on March 3, and the agreement concluded the following day, says Mahto. “In June last year, they submitted their documents and on July 10, they were granted the lease by the Mining Officer following which they applied for environmental clearance on Sept 9,” says the rights activist.
Mahto came to know about it in December 2021. He made a formal complaint to the President of India, Prime Minister and Governor Ramesh Bais. “All these documents are generally available on the portal of the Jharkhand government, but no paper related to him was available on any portal. I got all these documents from the Central government portal,” says Mahto.
He waited for a month for some action to follow. Then he filed an RTI and prepared his case for the Jharkhand High Court. “By that time the Governor had acted on the complaints of former CM Raghunbar Das,” he said. When asked about credit being hogged by Ragbhubar Das and Babulal Marandi, he refused to say anything but vowed that all documents related to the matter are the result of his effort.
“They read out the same document that I had submitted to the Governor,” said Mahto. “But, it hardly matters as the objective has already been achieved,” he says. Mahto has been acting against the mighty with the help of the Right to Information Act since it came into being in 2005. He has received a few awards for his fight for the rights of the people.
RANCHI: Who has caused troubles for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the disqualification row? Is it former BJP Chief Minister Raghubar Das who in February this year accused Soren of violating The Representation of the People Act,1951? No.
It was Ranchi-based RTI activist Sunil Mahto. He had written to the Governor, Prime Minister and the President on Jan 20 this year, asking them to take action against Soren. Mahto says nothing happened to his complaint. However, Governor Ramesh Bais acted after Raghubar Das visited him and took up the alleged ‘office of profit case’ against him (granting a mining lease to himself).
RTI activist Sunil MahtoThe RTI activist says Soren was trying to get the mining lease from 2018 in violation of laws on tribal land ownership rights. “The process gained speed last year after the Covid pandemic,” he says. Mahto says he had to work hard to collect “evidence” against Soren as none of the documents related to the lease granted to Soren was available on the state government’s portal. “All such information was deleted,” he said.
“Soren had a crusher business beginning 2007. They started acquiring land on lease by violating Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, giving wrong address and a shorter name of his father,” says Mahto. “I filed a complaint in 2018 with the local administration, but nothing happened,” recalls Mahto.
After becoming Chief Minister in 2019, Soren’s team again started the process in 2021. They purchased stamp paper on March 3, and the agreement concluded the following day, says Mahto. “In June last year, they submitted their documents and on July 10, they were granted the lease by the Mining Officer following which they applied for environmental clearance on Sept 9,” says the rights activist.
Mahto came to know about it in December 2021. He made a formal complaint to the President of India, Prime Minister and Governor Ramesh Bais. “All these documents are generally available on the portal of the Jharkhand government, but no paper related to him was available on any portal. I got all these documents from the Central government portal,” says Mahto.
He waited for a month for some action to follow. Then he filed an RTI and prepared his case for the Jharkhand High Court. “By that time the Governor had acted on the complaints of former CM Raghunbar Das,” he said. When asked about credit being hogged by Ragbhubar Das and Babulal Marandi, he refused to say anything but vowed that all documents related to the matter are the result of his effort.
“They read out the same document that I had submitted to the Governor,” said Mahto. “But, it hardly matters as the objective has already been achieved,” he says. Mahto has been acting against the mighty with the help of the Right to Information Act since it came into being in 2005. He has received a few awards for his fight for the rights of the people.
