NHRC notice to Jharkhand on Dhanbad coal mafia
New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission Monday issued notice to the Jharkhand government on the economic hardships being faced by tribals, and the illegal coal mining and trading which has led to killings of people in Dhanbad district.
The commission issued notice to the chief secretary seeking his reply to its findings in the matter of which it had taken suo motu cognizance.
The commission has called the Dhanbad mining area as the “hotbed of gangs” who indulge in illicit coal trade.
“These gangs recruit tribals to illegally mine coal for them and carry it to distant collection points.”
The commission points out that peripheral areas of Dhanbad are now facing danger on account of underground coal fires.
“President of India, Government of India, had worked out a rehabilitation plan for shifting the endangered population to safer areas. However, despite allocations made by the Government of India, effective action, at ground level, is very tardy,” says the commission.
The commission has cited faulty implementation of poverty removal programme as the reason for the emerging Maoist violence in Dhanbad.
