Naveen Reiterates Demand For Revision Of Coal Royalty

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Centre to expedite the decision on the long-pending claim of the Odisha government to revise the rate of royalty on coal from the present 14 per cent to 20 per cent.

“It is disheartening to learn that the final recommendation of the study group on coal royalty revision submitted on February 5 this year is still under consideration of the Central government,” the Chief Minister said in a letter to Union Coal minister Piyush Goyal.

Justifying the claim of the Odisha government, he said while the state produces about one-fifth of the total coal produced in the country bearing the brunt of the adverse effects of such mining on the environment, besides increased strain on water resources and infrastructure coupled with displacement of people, a major portion of economic benefit from coal mining is being appropriated by the central government.

He further said that while the rate of royalty on coal has remained unchanged for the last six years (though the Mines And Minerals Development And Regulation (MMDR) Act permits its revision every three years),  the rate of clean energy cess levied on coal by the central government has been raised from Rs 50 per tonne to Rs 400 per tonne during this period. Since the introduction of clean energy cess on coal from 2010-11, the central government has collected about Rs 17,300 crore up to March 2018 whereas during this period the royalty received by the state is only about Rs 11,000 crore, he further said.

“The state government has been requesting for a share of at least 60 per cent of such funds to deal with the negative externalities which may be considered by the central government” Naveen pointed out.

Drawing the attention of the Union minister, he said the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), whose profit before tax (PBT) has increased to Rs 7339.66 crore (38% growth) in 2017-18 and contributed Rs 6163 crore in 2017-18 to the central exchequer, is yet to pay the compensation amount of Rs 8297.77 crore towards the cost of about 180 million tonnes of coal extracted in excess of the permissible limits under the environment clearance.

The Chief Minister requested the Union minister to direct the MCL to make the said payment at the earliest.