Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is losing about Rs 5 crore as mining revenue every day because the Central government has been delaying the imposition of new royalty rates, as submitted by study group since June 2013, said Rajni Kant Singh, state steel and mines minister.
“If the Union Government accepts the recommendation of the Study Group, then the State would have received Rs5 crore revenue per day, considering current rate of mineral production,” Singh said in the state assembly, in a reply to question regarding mineral royalty.
As per the rules of Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the central government must revise the mineral royalty rates every three year. The last revision was made in 2009, when royalty on iron ore was enhanced to 10 per cent of total sale price, instead of a fixed amount.
The due date for revising the rates was on 13 August, 2012. However, the study group, appointed for revision of mineral royalties, gave its recommendation only in June 2013.
“The Central government is still sitting over the proposals. It has not intimated us yet about the cause of delay so far,” he added.
Mineral revenue is considered as major source of income of the state government. Recent data showed that, during April-September period, mining revenue, which contributes a whopping 75-80 per cent to the state’s non-tax revenue base, dropped 4.64 per cent to Rs 2,582.46 crore as against Rs 2,708.15 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Odisha possesses 35 per cent iron ore deposits, half of bauxite reserve and a quarter of coal resources of India. The state has so far leased out 600 mines in total for operation, out of which 472 have been shut down while 128 are currently in operation.
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