Ranchi, May 9 (PTI) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday alleged that monumental corruption plagued Jharkhand which was bearing the brunt of migration and lawlessness, and a change in governance was the need of the hour in the state.
Speaking at an event here, Sitharaman said allegations of step-motherly treatment towards Jharkhand were baseless.
“This land of (tribal icon) Birsa Munda with bounties of nature has now become a victim of monumental corruption… It is also bearing the brunt of migration and lawlessness. And, there is no conducive environment for industries here,” she said.
Eastern India can become the engine of growth for the country with the restoration of industries, Sitharaman said and added anyone “with a little pen was busy extorting money” in lieu of providing sanctions for trade and industries etc.
“There is no business creating environment…Somebody is doing well in business so I have to extract something …I have one little pen with which one signature is to be given….Thousands of signatures are required for setting up a business, but every pen thinks that I have something to take out of this and that perpetrates the monumental corruption which is in Jharkhand,” she said.
Sitharaman added that “blood-sucking leeches at every level supported by political dispensation” were making Jharkhand hollow and a massive scale reformation was needed here.
The Union minister said focus should be on value addition to minerals, as Jharkhand has 40 per cent of the country’s mineral wealth.
“Law and order when improved automatically gets investment, people have faith, and there is collection of revenue,” she said emphasisng a “change in governance in Jharkhand is needed for its betterment.” “Jharkhand used to feature among the top five states in ease-of-doing business. But now, ‘new jungle raj’ prevails here. The state will attract more investment if law and order improves… Change in governance is the need of the hour in the state,” the minister said.
“The allegations (of the opposition) about step-motherly treatment towards the state by the Prime Minister are baseless. Jharkhand was allocated a record Rs 7,234 crore for rail projects in the 2024-25 budget…The allocation during earlier regime used to be barely Rs 457 crore,” she said.
Speaking at the interactive session on ‘Eastern India – Engine of Growth for Viksit Bharat’, Sitharaman said some places in the state, including Sahibganj, Santhal Parganas and Godda, were witnessing demographic changes which is a matter of serious concern.
“Demography of Sahibganj, Santhal Parganas and Godda has been changing. It has changed in the last four years which is a matter of serious concern,” she said.
She pointed out that despite Jharkhand contributing 40 per cent of the country’s mineral output, industries were being established elsewhere. She stressed the imperative for establishing industrial units within the state.
“There should be a focus on mineral-based manufacturing because Jharkhand holds a significant share of the country’s mineral wealth, accounting for 40 per cent of all minerals combined. Within that, 28 per cent comprises coal, 26 per cent iron, 25 per cent cobalt, 18 per cent copper, and 6 per cent bauxite. Instead of transporting these minerals elsewhere for processing, manufacturing bases can be established here. I believe the emphasis should be on adding value to these minerals located in Jharkhand,” Sitharaman added.
She added that Rs 86,000 crore was collected in the country on account of District Mineral Fund and Jharkhand’s share was Rs 12,000 crore while Odisha and Bengal got Rs 25,400 and Rs 150 crore respectively.
“A total of 24,500 projects have been initiated in Jharkhand through the mineral fund, utilising the Rs 12,000 crore allocated. Notably, these funds operate independently of the state budget. Over the past five years, approximately 15,000 projects have been successfully completed,” she said.
Sitharaman emphasised that accusations of stepmotherly treatment from Delhi are unfounded and incorrect. “The government’s focus towards development of Jharkhand resulted in allocation of Rs 30,575 crore for Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata greenfield corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojna besides Rs 8,900 crore for revival of Sindri Fertiliser unit,” she added.
Sitharaman stirred a controversy after her photo with Vishnu Agarwal, one of the accused in a land scam investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), went viral and led to widespread discussion, with both the JMM and Congress criticising the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Hitting out at the BJP on the viral photograph, JMM issued a statement, “Businessman Vishnu Aggarwal, who had been jailed on charges of land scam including Army land, met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Babulal Marandi was also present on the occasion. He (Agarwal) had been arrested by the ED. He is out on bail. ED comes under the Finance Minister”.
In a statement, the Congress asserted, “The BJP owes an explanation regarding the nature of the arrangement that led to the Finance Minister meeting with an accused individual in a land scam under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, an agency that operates under the purview of the Finance Ministry.” Agarwal, the owner of a huge property in Ranchi, was arrested by the ED in connection with land-scam in July for alleged fraudulent sale of an acre plot in an upscale Ranchi locality. The Jharkhand High Court granted him bail in January. PTI NAM/SAN MNB
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