SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Dec 8: A group of officers will shortly be sent to Odisha and Chhattisgarh to examine their mining resource generation models, according to recently appointed Jharkhand Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore.
Kishore, in an interview with this writer, said that despite possessing 40% of the nation’s mineral reserves, Jharkhand only makes between Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,000 crore a year from mining. “Odisha, on the other hand, makes roughly Rs 50,000 crore,” he continued. In addition, Odisha’s mining industry brought in over Rs 4,900 crore in 2016–17. It increased to over Rs 50,000 crore in 2021–2022.
Money to fund welfare schemes
Kishore, a seasoned politician, immediately sprung into action after taking over to rally more money to cover the costs of several welfare programs, including the Maiyaan Samman Yojana, which Chief Minister Hemant Soren pledged to implement during the election.
The Jharkhand government will need at least Rs 17,700 crore a year for the Maiyaan Samman Yojana alone, even with an annual budget of Rs 1.28 lakh crore. Every woman in the 18–50 age range will receive an honorarium of Rs 2,500 per month under the initiative.
Kishore, an MLA from Patan Chhatarpur in Palamu, is in charge of the departments of finance, commercial tax, planning and development, and parliamentary affairs.
Hemant Soren’s focus on rural economy
According to him, there has been no plan for rural development in successive governments since Jharkhand became a separate state in 2000. “They largely concentrated on infrastructure, such as buildings, roads, and electricity,” he said.
“They lacked a vision to increase agricultural production or promote agro-allied industries, which could empower 80% of the population in Jharkhand. Additionally, 80% of rainwater goes to waste due to the absence of any plan to utilize it for agriculture,” he explained.
He cited an example: the previous governments built hospital buildings but failed to provide the necessary human resources to operate them.
“There are no doctors, nurses, or medicines available in these rural hospitals. In such circumstances, even a sum of ₹2,500 is significant for a woman. It means she no longer has to beg to afford basic medicines like cetirizine or Calpol tablets. Nor does she need to rely on her husband to buy small items like ‘tikli-bindi,'” he emphasized.
The finance minister stated that the funds credited directly to the bank accounts of over 59 lakh women will be reinvested in the market, thereby strengthening the rural economy. “So, these are not revadis (freebies),” he asserted.
Raghubar Das’ flashy projects
Criticizing the previous administration, he added, “Unlike the Raghubar Das government, which wasted money on flashy projects like Momentum Jharkhand (sirf haathi udaya), Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s vision focuses on developing the rural sector, ensuring proper health and education facilities, and creating livelihood opportunities in rural areas.” Kishore, the most experienced minister in the Soren cabinet, said.
He criticized the previous governments for their mismanagement of the state’s economy.
“For instance, revenue from the excise department was estimated at ₹1,000 crore in 2018-19. This figure doubled to ₹2,000 crore in 2019-20. How did that happen? With proper management and by preventing revenue leakage, this amount could easily rise to ₹4,000 crore,” he explained.
While acknowledging that achieving optimal revenue generation will take time, he emphasized that funding various welfare schemes remains a challenging yet achievable task.
On dues of Rs 1.36 lakh crore from Centre
Speaking about Jharkhand’s pending dues of ₹1.36 lakh crore from the Centre, the finance minister argued that political ethics demand the Central government act fairly and release the funds. “Under our federal system of governance, going to court to claim our dues from the Centre toh ye kalank hoga (would be a stigma),” he said.
Kishore further pointed out that the people have already given their verdict against the BJP-led Centre, condemning its decline in political and administrative ethics. “Now, they (the Centre) should accept their mistake and come to the negotiating table to discuss how they plan to release Jharkhand’s pending funds,” he urged.
Addressing the promise of creating 10 lakh jobs annually, Kishore explained that the state government could only fill positions against the sanctioned posts, which would total over 1 lakh. “The remaining job opportunities will have to be generated through other avenues,” he signed off.
