Symbolic picture.
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Expansion
Bihar government has frozen the salaries of many district mineral development officers and sought answers from them. The reason is simply that these officers did not meet the target of revenue collection. The mining department says officials were able to achieve only about 42 percent of their revenue target of Rs 3,590.66 crore for 2023-24 from their mining sector. By December 2023, these people could deposit only Rs 1,500 crore. That is, these officers have allegedly failed to meet the target of revenue collection in their respective areas so far in the current financial year. Therefore, the Bihar government has sought an explanation from the Mineral Development Officers of Jehanabad, Gaya, Munger, Jamui and Aurangabad for failing to meet the target of revenue collection.
Order to crack down on illegal mining at all costs
According to departmental sources, due to the revenue collection being only 42 percent of the target so far and the performance of most of the districts being unsatisfactory, the concerned officials have been asked to crack down on illegal mining, their transportation and storage by the mafia. Parmar Ravi Manubhai, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the department, told the news agency that the concerned officers have been asked to accelerate the revenue collection and achieve the target for the current financial year. His salary has been stopped till further orders.
Instructions to take legal action against people involved in illegal mining
According to departmental sources, all these officers will have to ensure that they meet their targets. Barring a few, all the districts have performed poorly. Revenue collection by various bodies in Gaya, Aurangabad, Munger and Bhagalpur is also not satisfactory. Instructions have also been given to initiate legal action and impose heavy fines against people involved in illegal mining in Bihar.
