Blaming the Centre's “lopsided policies” for tardy
progress of the mineral-rich state, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on
Saturday demanded an upward revision of royalty rates and a ban on ore
exports.
“In addition to the upward revision of royalty rates in
tandem with the soaring prices of minerals, there should be a mineral resource
rent tax to be charged at 50 per cent of the surplus rent,” Patnaik said
at the National Development Council Meeting here.
He claimed that the mining companies have run away
with “super normal profits” while the Ministry of Mineshas been
dithering about revision of royalty structure.
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