The Bad weather led to the last-minute cancellation of a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) meeting in Daltonganj.
The meeting had led to the postponement of the auction process of the sand ghats, which was scheduled to take place in the presence of the Chief Minister.
Chief minister Hemant Soren, who was slated to arrive for the party meeting, could not make it to Daltonganj, resulting in the meeting being scrapped altogether.
Daltonganj was recently been in the eye of a storm with local bidders offended by the preference given to outsiders in the auction procedure.
Of the 40 sand ghats here, over 25 have been auctioned so far and revenue worth Rs 2.90 crore raised through this, said the DC.
Palamu DC Manoj Kumar said nothing can be done to address the grievances of the local bidders as there is no rule to stop any outsider from taking part in the bidding process.
He conceded that a Mumbai-based bidder is sailing high pushing the local bidders to the corner. Citing the rules of Jharkhand minor minerals, local bidder Manikant Singh, said one has to produce a permission letter from panchayat or zila parishad or any other civic body before participating in the bidding but in Palamu, this rule has been flouted.
The DC, however, said preconditions for taking part in bidding has not been overlooked at all and any successful bidder has to take permission from civic authorities before digging even a handful of sand from the ghat.
