Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday announced that the single-member special investigation team (SIT) will have a six-month tenure to investigate and prevent the role of the railways in the illegal transportation of minerals in Jharkhand.

A statement issued by the chief minister’s secretariat also informed that the SIT would be led by the retired chief justice of Jharkhand High Court, Vinod Kumar Gupta.

“Making use of the powers conferred under Section-3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, it has been decided by the government of Jharkhand to appoint Chief Justice (retired) Jharkhand High Court Vinod Kumar Gupta as the chairperson of the one-member SIT,” the statement reads.

“The chief minister has given approval on the proposal to provide honorarium per month to the chairman of the SIT along with travel allowance and other facilities equivalent to the Chief Justice of the High Court and as well as one assistant, one commandant, one computer operator and vehicle facility for the seamless working of the office of the SIT chairperson,” the statement says.

On December 14 last year, Soren had written a letter to the Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informing that the state government has decided to set up a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the involvement of railway officials in illegal mining and its transportation and all other pertinent points. The chief minister also asked the railway minister to direct the railway officials to fully cooperate with this high-level inquiry committee.

“The Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2017 have been notified under Section-23 (C) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act to prevent illegal transportation of minerals in the state. According to Rule-9(1) of the notified rules, the transportation of excavated minerals by rail is also to be done only through the transport challan obtained from the JIMMS portal,” the statement adds.

According to the statement, several instructions have been issued for the transportation of minerals with valid e-challan through the state mines and geology department and deputy commissioner or district-level officials. Despite all these efforts, information is being received from various sources that large quantities of minerals are being transported or dispatched through railways without valid e-challans.

The statement further alleges that the information has been sent by the deputy commissioner, Dumka, regarding the transportation of stone chips without a permit or challan from railways and claims that the involvement of railway officials is reflected in this irregularity.