Bhubaneswar: The war of words over MMDR Amendment Bill between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha escalated on Tuesday with both trading charges and accusing each other of working against the state’s interests.
Mounting a scathing attack on BJP over the passage of the MMDR Amendment Bill in Parliament, BJD leader and MLA Goutam Buddha Das claimed the Centre and the Odisha government have betrayed the people of Odisha by bringing the legislation.
Terming the bill as a ‘dark law,’ he claimed that the measure seeks to restrict states’ powers to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land parcels, asserting that “Odisha will suffer immense revenue losses.
On the other hand, state BJP spokesman Anil Biswal referred to the alleged mining scam during the previous BJD rule and alleged that the state lost over Rs 59,000 crore of revenue because of largescale corruption. Therefore, it is ridiculous on the part of BJD and Congress to claim about revenue loss, he said.
Coming down heavily on the ruling party, the BJD legislator questioned the alleged silence of 20 BJP MPs from the state on the issue. He also alleged that the BJD government in the state and elected representatives of the ruling party have betrayed the people of Odisha by defending MMDR Amendment Bill.
Notably, Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 on August 13. The legislation will become law after it receives the President’s assent.
The BJD MLA alleged that there has been widespread smuggling of the state’s mineral resources since the BJP came to power in Odisha and that the state will suffer immense revenue losses due to the amendment to the Act.
The central government is taking away the revenue generated from mineral resources, while the state government is sitting silently, he claimed.
The royalty from mineral resources is spent through the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for development of the people of Odisha, but instead of doing so, the state government is planning to hand it over to the central government, claimed Das.
The BJD leader alleged that there is a conspiracy to deprive the people of the state of their rightful share of all revenues to be collected from the mines.
The BJD leader sought to know how the state BJP government and the MPs accepted the bill, which strikes at the federal structure. It is unacceptable that Odisha’s mining revenue will not be invested in the development of the state and will instead be used for the development of other states, he claimed.
Moreover, the state government would no longer be able to recover outstanding dues from any mine owner after the passage of the MMDR Amendment Bill.
On his part, BJP leader Anil Biswal came down heavily on BJD and asserted that the changes would not cause any revenue loss to the state. The MMDR amendments would create a stable and transparent regulatory framework and make India’s mining sector more competitive, he said.
The BJP leader said that the new reforms would accelerate exploration and production of critical and strategic minerals and ensure raw materials required by industries such as semiconductors are available at uniform prices across the country.
Claiming that Odisha will not lose even a single rupee in revenue because of the new amendments, he said greater competition in the market will rather generate more revenue. The amendments would attract fresh investment, promote industrial development and employment and support long-term economic growth.
It was an irony that the Congress and BJD are raising concerns over mining revenue when large-scale mining irregularities had taken place during their regimes. He asked the opposition to explain why Odisha’s mining revenue was lower during their tenure and where the uncollected money went.
Biswal said the state received only around Rs 5,000 crore in mining revenue in 2013 while the figure had now risen to around Rs 55,000 crore annually. This was made possible due to the amendments to the MMDR Act in 2015 by the Narendra Modi government. He said the premium auction mechanism had enabled states to earn higher revenues.
