No student in over 100 state govt schools

THE DEPARTMENT ALSO INFORMED THAT THERE WERE 8,033 SCHOOLS IN THE STATE WHICH WERE RUNNING WITH SINGLE TEACHER EACH.

- Vishal Kant

RANCHI: Former chief minister and Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi assured the Hemant Soren government on Tuesday that he would cooperate with the state in getting the outstanding dues cleared from the Centre but only if it approached the contentious issue as per the rules.

The issue pertains to ₹1.36 lakh crore which the Central government mining firms allegedly owe to the Jharkhand government as compensation against land acquisition for coal mining and coal royalty. The issue has become a major political controversy in the state and was one of the major issues in the Jharkhand assembly elections last year.

The issue also found mention in the budget speech of the finance minister Radhakrishna Kishore on Monday wherein the latter underlined the state would explore legal options to realise the outstanding dues. In a reply to a short notice question of JDU legislator Saryu Roy on Monday, minister Yogendra Mahto informed the house that a committee had been formed on March 1 to assess the actual due amount.