Cuttack: Congress MLA from Barabati-Cuttack Sofia Firdous has taken to social media to voice against the MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 that was recently passed in the Lok Sabha without any debate amid Opposition protest. Questioning the role of MPs from Odisha, Firdous claimed that Odisha was paying the price for its own minerals.
Taking to X, she released a video message describing the disadvantages of the act for the state. She said it will put more than Rs 1 lakh crore revenue at risk in the state. She also alleged that the Centre has given a big blow to the financial stability of Odisha. “How could the MPs who have been elected by the people to fight for their rights didn’t speak against it and voted in favour of it…” she asked.
The Bill inserted a new Section 9D into the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, restricting state governments from imposing additional taxes, cesses or other levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands unless strictly permitted under conditions framed by the central government.
It specifies that any such tax or levy not deposited or recovered by a state before the amendment comes into force will be deemed invalid, though amounts already collected will not be liable for a refund.
The MLA stated that she had raised the issue of taxation in the state Legislative Assembly in 2025. She claimed that the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the states having minerals like Odisha, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. She claimed by collecting DMF (district mineral fund) the state was able to invest money for welfare of the people, including the tribals who bear the brunt of mining. She urged the state government to intervene and also the MPs to ‘stand for Odisha and fight for Odisha.’
She alleged that the bill will ensure more gains for mining companies and corporate groups run by Adani, Ambani and Vedanta and less for local communities. “Odisha’s minerals must benefit Odisha’s people first,” she said.
In a landmark July 2024 verdict by a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, it was established that royalty is not a tax and affirmed the constitutional authority of states to tax mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands. In a subsequent clarification in August 2024, the apex court allowed states to retrospectively collect tax dues dating back to April 1, 2005, spread across 12 annual instalments starting April 1, 2026, while waiving pre-July 2024 interest and penalties.
For Odisha, that judicial green light promised a massive financial recovery of over Rs lakh crore out of an estimated Rs 1.5 lakh crore total nationwide, primarily by reviving the Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development (ORISED) Act, 2004, alongside an expected annual revenue boost of around ₹12,000 crore. The ORISED Act, originally passed by the then Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government to impose a levy of up to 20 per cent on the annual value of mineral-bearing lands, had been struck down by the Orissa High Court before being upheld on appeal by the Supreme Court.
