Chhattisgarh not to scrap controversial diamond mining licence

RAIPUR, DEC 12: Refusing to succumb to Opposition pressure, the Chhattisgarh government has refused to review the diamond prospecting lice...

RAIPUR, DEC 12: Refusing to succumb to Opposition pressure, the Chhattisgarh government has refused to review the diamond prospecting licence the state government shared with a joint sector company.

The government’s agreement with the B. Vijaykumar Chhattisgarh Exploration Company (BVCE) for the prospecting of diamonds in Chhattisgarh state “is in the interest of the state”, state Mines Minister Ram Pukar Singh told mediapersons here yesterday.

The BVCE has permission for prospecting and they will continue with their job for the stipulated three years as per the agreement, Singh added. He also dismissed the Opposition’s demand for scrapping the agreement, saying that no irregularities had been found in it.

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Senior BJP MLA Brij Mohan Agrawal had earlier alleged that the agreement between the Madhya Pradesh government and the BVCE contained several irregularities and demanded that it be scrapped since it was against the interests of the new state of Chhattisgarh.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Agrawal claimed that the BVCE had yet to obtain clearance from Defence and other central agencies but had been allowed to go ahead with digging and trenching works.

The Mines Minister also said the state government was working on a new mining policy and would introduce it soon.