New Delhi: Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab Wednesday urged the Centre to enhance the royalty on chromite, iron ore and bauxite.
Mahtab expressed unhappiness over non-revision of royalty on these minerals and said that despite the provision permitting revision of royalty in every three years, the Centre didn’t revise it since September 2014.
“The royalty on these minerals was last revised five years back, September 1, 2014, even though there is a provision permitting revision of royalty every three years,” Mahtab said.
Mahtab apprised the House that Odisha is producing about half of the country’s iron ore, besides substantial quantities of bauxite, chromite, limestone and manganese. However, he said that the state is being deprived of its reasonable expectation of revenue from such mining.
“The premiums offered by bidders in case of mining leases granted through auction are indicative of the jurisdiction for raising the royalty rates in order to improve the revenue shares of state governments. The state is being deprived of legitimate shares of revenues from such mining due to non-revision of royalty,” Mahtab added.