HC grants day's time to J'khand to reply on Chiria mine lease

Ranchi, Aug 23 (UNI) The Jharkhand High Court today granted one day's time to Bihar government to file its reply in conection with the lease renewal of Chiria mines.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Muthuswamy Karpagvinyagam and Justice Narendranath Tiwary passed the order while hearing a writ petition by the state government.

The state government pleaded before the court to grant some time so that they could file reply to the application filed by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on August 20 this year.

The SAIL had filed an interlocutory application stating therein that the matter should be refered to a high powered committee because all the parties were state government, Union government or public sector units (Government of India undertaking).

So keeping in view of the judgement delivered by the Supreme Court to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the matter should be referred to the committee, the application mentioned.

Mr Indrojeet Sinha, appearing on behalf of the SAIL, pointed out that the lease renewal of the Chiria mines was pending for a long time, adding the lease was with the company but the state government wanted its right to provide it to private parties.

The court granted one day's time to the government to reply to the SAIL's application after hearing arguments from both sides.

There were six mines, including Budhaburu, Ajita Buru Sukri Buru and Dhobil under Chiria mines.

Earlier, the court had permitted both the parties for an outside settlement but the matter was not sorted out.

UNI