Jharkhand High Court stays auction of sand ghats over PESA rules non-compliance

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Tuesday clamped a stay on the auction of sand ghats (banks) in the state for non-implementation of the Panchayat Extension of Scheduled Area (PESA) Rules.

The issuance of mining lease for minor minerals has also been stayed by the high court.A division bench of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar were hearing a contempt petition filed by the Adiwasi Buddhijeevi Manch for non-compliance of the earlier order of the high court directing the govt to ensure implementation of PESA Rules before executing the process of auction of sand ghats and issuance of certificates for mining other minor minerals across the state.Panchayati raj department principal secretary Manoj Kumar was present in the court on Tuesday. Kumar informed the court that the decision of implementation of PESA rules is pending with the state cabinet and office of the chief minister. The court pulled up the secretary and observed that the department cannot push the blame on the cabinet or the chief minister.It is the mandate of the Constitution that natural resources and land in areas dominated by scheduled tribes should be distributed through the local bodies, the bench observed.

The Adiwasi Buddhijeevi Manch had filed a contempt petition for implementation of the PESA rules for proper division and auction of natural resources through scheduled area bodies. The high court had earlier on July 29, 2024, directed the govt to ensure implementation of the rules before initiating auction of sand ghats and issuing certificate of mining for other minor minerals. The govt having failed to implement the rules in compliance of the high court order, the petitioner, Adiwasi Buddhijeevi Manch had filed the contempt application.

The matter will again be heard after a fortnight.Panchayati Raj department principal secretary Manoj Kumar informed the court that the decision of implementation of PESA rules is pending with the state cabinet and office of the CM