CM should raise demand for coal royalty revision: BJD

Bhubaneswar: The Opposition BJD on Monday said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi should take up the demand for revision of coal royalty with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Odisha on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said the Centre did not revise the coal royalty for the last 12 years, and because of this, the State has been incurring losses of Rs 10,000 crore every year.”Instead of succumbing to the pressure of the BJP, the Chief Minister should muster courage and take up State’s important issues with the Prime Minister, including the revision of coal royalty,” he said. The Chief Minister should write to the Centre, demanding immediate revision of the coal royalty and also directly take up the issue with the Prime Minister on Tuesday. The Prime Minister will visit Odisha to launch the State’s women’s welfare scheme ‘Subhadra Yojana’, and unveil a host of infrastructure projects. Ahead of the visit, senior Congress leader Srikant Jena wrote to the Prime Minister, urging him to withdraw the review petition filed by the Centre before the Supreme Court regarding the State’s authority on levying cess and taxes on mineral-bearing lands and minerals.

“The review petition filed by the Centre is as good as backstabbing the interest of Odisha and benefits a few industrial houses and mine operators. In the larger interest of Odisha, the review petition should be withdrawn,” Jena said in the letter.

“The rulings of the Supreme Court allow States to levy taxes and cess on mineral-bearing lands and minerals. Odisha is the leading mineral producer in the country, accounting for nearly half of India’s total mineral production,” he said.

The BJD also raised the issue of the establishment of a bench of the High Court in the State’s western region.