Bihar withholds salaries of mineral dev officers over unmet revenue target

The Bihar government has withheld salaries of several district mineral development officers who have allegedly failed to meet the target of revenue collections in their respective areas in the current financial year so far, officials said on Sunday. The Mines and Geology Department of the state government has sought explanations from such officers in Jehanabad, Gaya, Munger, Jamui and Aurangabad for "failing to meet the target of revenue collections till December 2023 in their respective districts", they said. The department has managed to achieve around 42 per cent of its revenue target of Rs 3,590.66 crore for 2023-24 from the mining sector as it could collect just Rs 1,500 crore till December 2023, a senior official of the department said. "Yes, the department has withheld the salaries of several district mineral development officers who failed to meet the target of revenue collections in their respective areas till December end of the current financial year. "With the revenue .