Tag: jharkhand

Conclave pitch in Jharkhand government tourism push

Source: telegraphindia.com

The state government is keen to organise tourism and Buddhist circuit conclaves to boost the tourism sector in Jharkhand.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, state art, culture and tourism minister Amar Kumar Bauri said: “Compared with Bihar, we started quite late in discovering and developing historical places related to Lord Buddha in Jharkhand. Itkhori in Chatra district is an important site that marks the last journey of Siddhartha Gautama before he became Buddha at Bodhgaya. Kauleshwari in Hazaribagh district is also an important Buddhist site being developed by us.”

Bauri, who is a post-graduate in history, said chief minister Raghubar Das was very keen on organising the conclaves in September.

The minister said the tourism sector in Jharkhand had witnessed phenomenal growth in the last four and a half years and would substantially contribute to the state GDP in the coming years.

“The development of roads, hotels, tourist spots and better law and order situation have led to a spurt in the tourist inflow,” Bauri said.

He said in 2018-19, a total of 3.54 crore domestic tourists and 1.76 crore foreign tourists visited Jharkhand.

The number of hotels having a minimum of 10 rooms have risen to 618 in the state from 359 in 2014-15, the minister said, adding that the tourism sector has generated around 74,000 jobs.

“The development of Patratu Dam is another milestone for us. The first phase of the work has been completed at a cost of Rs 60 crore. We have decided to inaugurate the tourist spots at Patratu in September,” the minister said.

He said the department had categorised 132 tourist spots under international, national, state and local categories on the basis of their popularity.

“Jharkhand was earlier known for all the wrong reasons, but tourism has changed the face of the state. Jharkhand is blessed with beautiful and historical places, but unfortunately their potential remained untapped before the Raghubar Das government,” Bauri said.

The minister informed that his department was working on a proposal to install a lift at Pahari temple.

“A proposal for the construction of a ropeway was mooted years back, but the project, which was found unfeasible, was abandoned at the planning stage. Now we are working on a proposal to install a lift and technical discussions have been initiated,” he said.

However, the minister admitted that the department’s efforts didn’t produce the desired outcome regarding two specific issues — roping in Archaeological Survey of India in 2015 to conduct research and survey in 24 districts and the formulation of Jharkhand Sports Policy.

“The survey by ASI could not be undertaken as we lacked trained manpower to assist them. The department provided funds to students and teachers of history in Bokaro district to conduct research at some historic sites, but their report was found unsatisfactory,” he said.

On Jharkhand Sports Policy, Bauri said he had recently prodded officials of the department on the issue. “I hope we will able implement the policy in our next tenure,” he said.

Bauri said Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society started a talent hunt in 2016 to promote talented children.

So far, 5,48,700 kids took part in the drive and 448 were selected and being trained at the coaching centres.

“However, these coaching centres are meant for minor players. Now, we have decided to set up hostels for senior sportspersons in Ranchi and Dumka,” he added.

Crop failed due to lack of rain, Jharkhand farmer hangs self

Source: indianexpress.com

“Depressed” over his worsening financial condition, a 50-year-old farmer allegedly hanged himself at his home in Dhadhauli village, in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, on Monday night, it emerged on Wednesday.

Family members said Shiva Khariya had sown paddy but it failed due to lack of rain, which deteriorated his “mental condition”.

Deputy Commissioner Gumla Shashi Ranjan, however, said stress may not be the only reason behind the suicide. “He was also an alcoholic, and over the last few days had fever. He did not eat anything.”

Khariya’s family was a beneficiary of the LPG connection under the Central government’s Ujjwala scheme, Ranjan added.

This came days after a farmer from Ranchi district allegedly killed himself, with his family claiming that the government authorities did not clear dues for building materials for a well dug on his land under the Mahatma National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Khariya’s wife Mangri Devi said he had mortgaged land for their son and daughter’s weddings. She said: “Farming is limited to the three-four months during the monsoon; there is no water the rest of the year. Over the years, we survived on free ration and some rice and urad dal produced on our farm. Our sons go out for work, but the money they send home is not sufficient.”

Land records show Khariya owned 13 acres of land; the family said half of that had been “mortgaged”.

Khariya’s son Birsa, 25, said his father did not eat the rice and starch cooked at home on Monday night and went to sleep. “We found his body, hanging, the next day,” he said.

The family has an MNREGA job card but has not taken any job for the last five years, with family members claiming that the low wages and a bigger payment cycles dissuade them.

Village head Sushila Soren said most people in all three villages under Kasira panchayat are farmers but people temporarily leave for other areas in search of jobs after the monsoon. “Under MGNREGA, payment cycles have been absurdly delayed by more than 45-60 days. Even when money comes, there there is misdirection of wages and people do not get it. This has led to a belief that there will be no payment under MGNREGA,” Soren said.

Panchayat secretary Ravindra Kashyap said farmers who had availed schemes such as well construction in 2017-18 have not received material payments yet.

But maintaining that MGNREGA payment error in Gumla is “less than 1 per cent”, the DC, Ranjan, said, “There are some problems regarding material payments, but the dues are cleared periodically.”

Jharkhand to Install 11,000 LED Solar Streetlights Across the State

Source: mercomindia.com

The Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) has issued a tender for setting up LED solar streetlights across the state on a turnkey basis.

The bid submission deadline is August 19, 2019. The opening date for technical bids is August 21, 2019.

The scope of work for the tender includes the supply, installation, testing, and commissioning including five years of comprehensive maintenance contract for LED solar street lighting systems with lithium ferro phosphate batteries. The project will be executed at various locations across the state. A total of 11,000 streetlights will be deployed under this project.

The contract will be awarded over a 12-month duration. The project has to be completed over a six-month period. The estimated cost of the project is ₹175.56 million (~$2.55 million).

The earnest money deposit (EMD) for this tender is ₹159,600 (~$2,319.80) for a lot size of 500 LED streetlights. Those bidders who quote for higher numbers of streetlights would need to submit EMD in relevant proportions. The last date for submitting earnest money deposit is August 20, 2019.

The applicant bidding for the project should fulfill certain technical conditions. The bidder should be a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) approved channel partner, manufacturer or system integrator. The bidder should have a registered manufacturing company or corporation of India (including medium sized enterprises (MSEs) of Jharkhand) manufacturing one of the major components of solar streetlight systems. The authorized dealers and subcontractors are not eligible to take part in this tender.

Bidders should have an annual turnover of at least 25% of their bid capacity derived from the last three financial years ending on March 31, 2018 or 2019. On the other hand, for micro small and medium enterprises, the average annual turnover of 10% of the bid capacity is required.

Solar streetlights are an intelligent way of revamping public spaces in the country. In the recent years, various state governments along with the center have introduced tenders and programs to encourage such initiatives.

In December 2018, the MNRE had received the approval to launch phase II of Atal Jyoti Yojna (AJAY) during the financial year 2018-19 and 2019-20. The ministry had also received ₹500 million (~$7.13 million) to meet the pending liabilities of phase I of the program. Under the phase II of AJAY, 304,500 solar streetlights are expected to be installed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North Eastern states including Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and parliamentary constituencies covering 48 aspirational districts.

Recently, the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited also issued a tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of 20,000 off-grid solar LED streetlights across the country.

Jharkhand: 6 Congress workers expelled after protest against party unit chief

Source: indianexpress.com

The protesters raised slogans such as “Dr Ajoy Kumar, go back, go back”. A source in the party said Ranchi block presidents Sudhir Singh, Tinku Verma and Ashutosh Nath Pathak, among other leaders, have been expelled.

“It was a sponsored protest where some people raised slogans and were creating some objection while I was entering the premises. However, disciplinary action has been initiated,” said Ajoy Kumar after the meeting. Sources said workers are protesting as some of them want Assembly tickets, but the state leadership wants to give tickets to “energetic faces”.

The meeting was held to discuss the party’s alliance with the JMM and Left parties in the state. Sources said that 20 of the 24 district presidents showed their support for Kumar during the meeting. “Talks on alliance were discussed and various leaders discussed about the number of seats Congress is likely to contest. We discussed contesting 40 seats,” the source said. However, Kumar refrained from commenting further on the alliance talks and said “they are still in the deliberation mode”.

Leaders such as former Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Balmuchu and former MP Subodh Kant Sahay have earlier openly criticised Kumar after the Congress’s Lok Sabha debacle.

Leaders said the trouble began when Kumar announced JMM’s Hemant Soren as the opposition alliance’s Chief Ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections, before the Lok Sabha polls. It was a strategic move for Kumar, but for the old guard this brought in resentment. Sources in the party said this infuriated Subodh Kant Sahay as he was not kept in the loop. “In a scenario when political coalitions change in 24 hours, how can a CM face be announced so much in advance. This completely lacked political acumen,” said one of the leaders.

Ranchi district president Sanjay Pandey said that Kumar induced “fresh air in the team” and had worked hard. “The problem now is that the old guard, who lost in the Lok Sabha elections, want to contest in Assembly. Kumar-ji will not let this happen and that is why roadblock has been created,” he said.

Sources in favour of Kumar also pointed to “indiscipline” in the party. Congress’s former minister and ex-MLA Banna Gupta had earlier criticised Kumar after which East Singhbhum district president Vijay Khan had issued Gupta a showcause notice. This move had also irked the old guard.

Amit Khare: Doordarshan to be used for promotion of Jharkhand tourism

Source: ddinews.gov.in

The Central Government has hastened the process to make Jharkhand a national tourist place. In this regard, Ministry of Information & broadcasting, Secretary, Amit Khare met officials in Chatra, Jharkhand and also reviewed the plans.

Religious tourist destinations of Chatra will be connected to Sanatan, Jain and Buddhist circuits to make people in and around the country aware about it.

Temple of Bhadrakali in Chatra is the centre of faith for people across the country. Central government is trying to bring Bhadrakali temple in the forefront of tourism.

Ministry of Information Secretary Amit Khare inspected the process of renovation at the temple which will cost 500 crore rupees.

Amit Khare said that government will use the medium of Doordarshan to create awareness and also promote the religious tourist destinations of Jharkhand.

The steps taken by central govt in this respect, will not only boost tourism but also generate employment opportunities in the state.

On his one day visit to Chatra, Ministry of Information & broadcasting, Secretary Amit Khare also offered prayers at the Bhadrakali temple with District Deputy Commissioner and other officers.

Jharkhand: Farmer ‘kills self’, family blames govt dues

Source: indianexpress.com

A 40-year-old farmer from Jharkhand has allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well he got constructed under the Mahatma National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) after government authorities did not clear dues for building materials.

The incident took place in Patratu village of Chanho block in Ranchi. Family members of Lakhan Mahato said he got a dug well constructed in 2018 on his farmland at a cost of Rs 3.54 lakh. Lakhan, they said, received around Rs 2 lakh from the government and paid the rest of the amount from his own pocket. Despite several trips to the block office, he had failed to get the dues cleared and was in stress, said his family members.

Ranchi SP (Rural) Ashutosh Shekhar said, “It appears to be a case of suicide. We are waiting for the post-mortem report for more details. There does not seem to be any foul play.” Block Development Officer Santosh Kumar said, “The death seems like an accident as he was an alcoholic. Why would he commit suicide? He also had money in his account and enough means to sustain himself. The post-mortem report may help in knowing the cause of death.”

Kumar added, “Lakhan got his work done recently and the voucher was submitted only on July 25. So there is no question of not paying him money.”

The NREGA website shows as pending the material cost of cement and bricks to the tune of Rs 1.22 lakh which Lakhan paid.

Lakhan’s family members said the well was constructed last year and only the parapet was raised recently. His wife, Bimla Devi, 35, said Lakhan had taken loans ranging from Rs 30,000-50,000 from relatives for the construction of the well and remained worried about the repayment.

“On Friday morning, he woke up and left for his field. When he did not return till evening, we started looking for him. I was worried because he had been tense about the debt.”

On Saturday morning, she said, somebody found Lakhan’s belongings floating in the well and raised an alarm. “His body was found and pulled out. He died in the same well which he got constructed for irrigation. Authorities are terming his death an accident, which is completely false. I don’t know what was going on in his mind that he took such an extreme step,” she said. Bimla Devi said her husband did not have enmity with anyone in the village.

Lakhan’s 80-year-old mother said, “Who will take care of our family now…I don’t even receive my widow pension despite my son going to the block office several times to get the issue resolved…”

Lakhan’s 17-year-old son Suraj said that since the past one month, his father had made “at least 15 trips” to the block office. Birbal Mahato, a relative from whom Lakhan had borrowed money, said, “He had taken Rs 30,000 from me. I never pressured him to repay, but he remained tense over the repayment.”

Three other villagers, Bhim Yadav, Raju Mahato and Subham Mahato are among those who got their dug wells constructed. They said that they had taken loans from friends, under the Kisan Credit Card and sold their buffaloes to arrange for the money. “We haven’t been paid Rs 1.5 lakh each since the past one year,” they said.

BDO Kumar said that there has been a backlog of payment in the district as well as the state. “Ideally, a person should not pay from his own pocket, but due to lack of funds, payment for materials were delayed to the vendors. So, many people used money from their own pocket.”

Government nod for 30 bed ESIC hospital in Bokaro

Source: dailypioneer.com

Bokaro will soon get an Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital which will offer medicine at subsidised rates and provide out-patient and in-patient facilities at a nominal cost.

Establishment of an ESIC Hospital at Bokaro was a much awaited demand of the locals. Jharkhand Government has finally given its nod to erect the 30-bed hospital, the tender for which will be floated soon, informed an official.

“Over 70,000 workers and their families are associated with ESIC at Bokaro and they are not being able to avail the health benefits under the scheme as ESIC does not have its own hospital at Bokaro,” said SK Verma President of BMS.

“The move may help decongest private and government hospitals in the district. It will also reduce healthcare cost for millions by easing dependence on private-run medical facilities,” he said.

The Government has taken this decision on the initiative of Bermo MLA Yogeshwar Mahato Batul, who raised the issue in state assembly, claimed Ranjan Mahato an MLA supporter and party worker.

Meanwhile, run by labour ministry ESIC has over 150 hospitals and 1,500 dispensaries across the country which are catering to the healthcare need of industrial workers (who are subscribers of the corporation), said an official requesting anonymity.

The hospital will provide the out-patient facility to common people at just Rs 10 per visit, for in-patient treatment, it will charge one-fourth of what CGHS (Central Government Health Scheme) hospitals charges, he informed.

The ESI Act applies to organisations where 10 or more persons are employed and all employees drawing salary up to Rs 21,000.

Under the Act eligible employees contribute 1.75 percent of their salary (basic+ allowances) and employers contribute 4.75 percent to the ESI corpus every month. Now the Government had recently sought an amendment of the Draft Rules concerning ESI contribution. The Gazette Notification dated February, 15, 2019 proposes a reduction in both the employees’ and employers’ ESI contribution towards the scheme which would be 4 percent–for the employers and 1 percent–for employees.

“Recently ESIC has taken a decision to set up one super speciality hospital in each State,” said the official.

Enough evidence to show your ”Dadagiri”, SC tells ex-Jharkhand minister Sao

Source: outlookindia.com

New Delhi, Jul 26 The oral testimony of witnesses is enough “to show your Dadagiri (bullying tactics)”, the Supreme Court Friday told former Jharkhand minister Yogendra Sao, who has challenged his conviction and sentence in a 2011 extortion case.

The top court said this while agreeing to hear Sao”s plea challenging the April 26 order of Jharkhand High Court which dismissed his appeal against the conviction and two-and-a-half year sentence in the case.

A bench of Justices A M Sapre and Indu Malhotra issued notice and sought response from the Jharkhand government on the plea.

Senior advocate Rakesh Khanna, appearing for Sao, said the magisterial court did not have privilege to see entire call detail records (CDR) which included the period of alleged crime.

“Allegation is that I made a phone call and asked for money but the complete CDR was not filed. The CDR, which was filed before the trial court was till the month of March while the alleged occurrence of crime had taken place on April 24, 2011 and August 25, 2011,” he said.

Khanna said the trial court relied upon the testimony of prosecution witnesses and the informant who was an interested party.

“The oral testimony is enough to show your Dadagiri (bullying tactic). We cannot re-appreciate the whole evidence. There are concurrent findings against you by two courts,” the bench observed.

The top court, however, said that it will examine the matter and sought response from the state government in two weeks.

On April 26, the Jharkhand High Court had refused to interfere with trial court”s January 28, 2015 order convicting and sentencing Sao for two-and-a-half year rigorous imprisonment.

Sao was booked by the police on the charges of extortion on a complaint from a manager of Ramgarh Sponge Iron Private Limited and a case was registered against him on August 25, 2011.

The manager of the company has alleged that Sao threatened him on phone and demanded Rs 5 lakh.

Sao was then an MLA of Congress party and a member of the Committee of Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on Pollution Control.

Sao is lodged in jail after the apex court on April 12 ordered him to surrender before a court in Ranchi in cases related to rioting and inciting of violence.

The apex court had on April 4, trashed Sao”s plea seeking to campaign for the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls and cancelled his bail, saying he has violated the bail conditions.

Sao became a minister in the Hemant Soren-led UPA government in Jharkhand in 2013. He is named as an accused in over a dozen cases of rioting and instigation of violence.

The top court had then refused to cancel the bail of Sao”s wife Nirmala Devi. It had transferred the trial of 18 cases against Sao and Devi to Ranchi from Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand.

Both Devi and Sao are accused in a case relating to violent clashes between villagers and police in 2016 in which four persons were killed.

Devi, a Congress MLA, had led an agitation against NTPC authorities for their alleged attempt to forcibly evacuate villagers from Barkagaon without giving them due compensation or rehabilitation, according to police.

Jharkhand MLA resigns over minister’s reply

Source: telegraphindia.com

BSP’s only Jharkhand MLA resigned from the Assembly on Friday, protesting against an ambiguous reply of a minister to his question on reviving a cement plant that he said reflected the casual approach of the BJP-led state government while addressing legislators’ concerns.

“I am fed up. I moved a resolution for the revival of the Japla cement factory. I got upset as urban development minister C.P. Singh replied casually to my concerns, saying that I should search for investors if I was keen on reviving the factory,” said Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta.

The MLA said the state government was not bothered about the industrial development of Palamau. “Am I running the government? Am I the minister? The factory was auctioned and its machinery sold. In the coming years, even the land of the factory will be auctioned,” he said, adding that he had held demonstrations during every House session to raise the issue.

“In the last four and half years, I have seen that the government takes questions raised by MLAs very casually,” Mehta said, referring to his private member’s resolution that was ultimately rejected by the House by voice-vote.

The Japla cement factory was set up in 1917 by Martin Burn Company. It continued production till 1984 when operations were stopped. In 1985, then Bihar chief minister Bindeshwari Dubey persuaded Dalmia group of companies to run the factory, promising Rs 5 crore as financial assistance.

But the state government only released Rs 2.5 crore. The Dalmias were unable to run the factory and it was shut down in 1991.

Last year, the factory machinery was auctioned off for around Rs 12 crore under the supervision of Patna High Court after it rejected Jharkhand government’s intervention petition seeking to stop the auction.

Mehta handed over a typed resignation letter to Speaker Dinesh Oraon during the second half of the day’s session. But an Assembly official, citing technicalities and the circumstances of his decision, said the letter would not be considered by the Speaker.

“He submitted a typed resignation letter when the session was going on. But after that he stayed back and took part in proceedings because many MLAs asked him to. So his resignation has automatically turned infructuous. Had he left the House immediately, then the matter could have been considered,” said a senior Assembly official.

Asked whether he was serious about quitting the House, Mehta admitted he did not know the nitty-gritty of House procedures.

“Today I submitted my resignation to the Speaker. Now the ball is in his court. But I am fed up,” he said, adding that the state government had never taken his concerns seriously.

“I had raised the issue of district-level reservations in government jobs and displacement of local residents due to the Batane water reservoir. But none of these were taken seriously by the government. HRD minister Neera Yadav virtually scolded me on one occasion,” he claimed.

Jharkhand to bear education expenses of children if family head killed in elephant attack

Source: indiatoday.in

The Jharkhand government will provide free education to the children of a family, which has lost its only earning member to an elephant attack, an official statement said here on Thursday.

All district deputy commissioners have been apprised of the government’s decision, it said.

“If a family head dies following attack by elephants, children of that family will get free education in government schools,” said the statement issued by the office of Chief Minister Raghubar Das.

The direction came following a meeting of the Jharkhand State Wildlife Council, chaired by the chief minister, on Wednesday.

Among others who attended the meeting were Additional Chief Secretary (forest department) Indushekhar Chaturvedi, Principle Secretary to the Chief Minister Sunil Kumar Barnwal and the forest department chief Sanjay Kumar.

Special efforts are being made to reduce man-animal conflict in Jharkhand, with focus on plantation of bamboo trees in the forests – one of the major sources of food for elephants, the statement said.

An “underpass will be constructed between Ranchi and Jamshedpur for the safe passage of elephants” along the forested areas, it said.

According to government records, 87 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the 2018-19 fiscal.

Between January and June this year, at least six persons died in elephant attacks in the Ranchi forest division.