New Delhi: BJD Rajya Sabha member Sasmit Patra on Tuesday urged the Centre to revise coal royalty for Odisha from 14% to 20%.
In a special mention notice in Parliament, Patra said the Centre, instead of revising the coal royalty, had hiked the clean energy cess levy and collecting Rs 17,300 crore without any share for Odisha. He demanded 60% share in the clean energy cess for Odisha.
The BJD MP further said that Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) had paid Rs 6163 crore to the central exchequer and Rs 8297.77 crore to Odisha towards compensation for excess coal extracted beyond permissible limits. These amounts will be utilised in the mining areas of the state, which face pollution and displacement due to coal mining and negative externalities, he added.
