Karnataka is contesting the recommendations of two panels
that have submitted reports to the Supreme Court calling for annual iron
ore production in the southern state to be capped at 30 million tonnes, on
the ground that investments of 1,40,000 crore or close to $30 billion in
new steel plants would be in jeopardy.
Lured by the state-abundant deposits of iron ore, investors, such as Arcelor
Mittal, Tata Metaliks, and a joint venture between NMDC and Russian
firm AOA Severstal, planned to build steel plants capable of churning out
around 50 million tonnes (mt) of the metal. But for this the state would need
85 mt of ore, or thrice the ceiling proposed by the panels.
The state at present hosts steel and sponge iron plants with
a capacity of 14.36 mt and requires 25mt of iron ore every year for the
existing facilities itself.
However, according to estimates of the Indian Bureau of
Mines (IBM), in the past five years, close to 2.16 billion tones of reserves
under its soil. “This should last for 150 years,” said an
official.
In its recommendation the CEC has said that states could ask
for a revision if they put adequate infrastructure in place “It is up to
the state to get its act together and start implementation of
a mining corridor, with conveyor belts at mines, railway siding,
dedicated roads and stockyards before it can ask for raising the
threshold,” the CEC official said.
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