During the ongoing budget session of the Assam Assembly, on Wednesday, the opposition parties alleged that syndicates are being run in the state in coal, supari, etc.
Guwahati: During the ongoing budget session of the Assam Assembly, on Wednesday, the opposition parties alleged that syndicates are being run in the state in coal, supari, etc. The ruling BJP, however, termed the allegations as ‘baseless’. The opposition named a certain individual, Haren Mahanta, as the lynchpin, and that arresting him will reduce the syndicates by 50%.
Initiating discussions under Rule-50, CPI (M) legislator Manoranjan Talukdar raised a discussion on the “need to take action against the illegal syndicate operating in Assam, enforcing unlawful taxes on betel nuts and other products imported to Assam.” During the discussion, MLA Talukdar said, “Due to syndicates, a negative impact is seen in society. A few people are engaged in looting huge amounts. Black money is being circulated. Such black money has also entered politics in Assam. A big syndicate on supari is being operated. Two groups are operating syndicates in Chagolia and Srirampur gates. They charge Rs 30 per kg of supari. The government can initiate an inquiry into this. Every day, around 50 trucks carrying supari pass through Chagolia and Srirampur points. The daily collection amounts to around Rs 3.5 crore. One Haren Mahanta is running the syndicate raj. Now, one centre has been set up at Howly, and two persons — Pramod and Harsha Das — are running it. The syndicates are also affecting local farmers of betel nut. Earlier, they used to earn Rs 350 per quintal. Now they are getting Rs 270 per quintal. Businessmen pay the farmers less in order to pay the syndicates. Not only in supari, syndicates are also being run in fish, coal, eggs, broiler chicken, etc.”
Talukdar further stated, “During the time of the Sarbananda Sonowal government, it was said that syndicates will be shut down. Currently, the BJP-led government is in power, but syndicates have not stopped operating. Who gets the money from the syndicates? Coal comes from Meghalaya, and it is taxed illegally in Assam. According to media reports, a team from central GST recently seized 80 coal-laden trucks. Rahim Jibrang, Dipankar Nath, and Sahidul Islam alias Garo Bhaiti are involved in the coal syndicate. Even the police provide protection to the syndicate operators. Cow syndicates are still being run. Even police officials get their cut. Due to the syndicate raj, a parallel economy is operating. Illegal coal mining is still going on in Margherita and Ledo. The Chief Minister should say whether the syndicates will be shut down or not.”
Meanwhile, Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi said that illegal syndicates are operating in 23 items. The first among these is gutkha, the second is coal, and the third is the supari syndicate. “Arresting Haren Mahanta will cut down the syndicates by half,” Gogoi said. “In the name of supari, Rs 50 is charged per kg in the Barak Valley and Rs 32 in the Brahmaputra Valley. The Government of India had instructed the Assam government to stop the entry of Burmese supari, as trucks carrying the supari also bring in drugs and weapons. Every day, around 40 to 50 supari-laden trucks are entering Assam,” Akhil Gogoi added.
Joining the discussion, Congress MLA Abdul Rashid Mandal said that coal comes from Nangal, Meghalaya, and each truck carrying coal has to pay Rs 1.25 lakh while entering Assam. The coal trucks are moving through Assam without any valid documents. “One Sahidul collects Rs 32 per kg of supari,” Mandal said. He further alleged that syndicate raj in sand is also prevalent in Goalpara district.
AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam (junior) and Congress MLA Diganta Barman, while participating in the discussion, also alleged that syndicates in different items are being run in the state.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Sushanta Borgohain stated that a gloomy picture is being painted in the Assembly by opposition party MLAs and that no syndicates are operating in the state. He demanded Manoranjan Talukdar to prove his allegations regarding the syndicates. Borgohain stated that a syndicate was started by a Left party in Sivasagar a long time ago.
BJP MLA Manab Deka also pitched in, saying that CPI (M) MLA Manoranjan Talukdar has a ‘Chinese agenda’ in levelling his allegations on the syndicates. He stressed this by pointing out the timing of the allegations, coming close on the heels of the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit.
Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma will reply to the allegations in the Assembly later on, Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary informed the House.
Moreover, the leader of the opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, today raised a discussion regarding the ‘death of workers due to illegal mining in Dima Hasao district.’ Saikia said that the state government had stated in the Assembly earlier that rat-hole mining was stopped since 2014, as per directions from the National Green Tribunal, but it has been proved that illegal coal mining is continuing unabated. This was apparent from the fact that several workers died in the mine disaster at Umrangso in January this year, Saikia added.
Saikia also said, “Earlier, Justice BP Katakey was entrusted with an inquiry into illegal coal mining in Margherita, Ledo. He submitted his report during the Sarbananda Sonowal government. In the report, it was stated that political and administrative patronage was present in illegal coal mining. If the government so desires, it can conduct a high-level inquiry and also form a House committee.”
