Joda: A total of 59 mines out of the 90 under Joda mining circle in Keonjhar district are lying closed due to a host of statutory regulations, sources have informed. As a result, both the Centre and the Odisha government are losing revenues worth several crores of rupees.
Moreover, the provision of separate rules for the payment of mining premiums has led to a decline in competition in the mining and industrial sectors. This has resulted in losses for the new leaseholders, experts pointed out. According to information available from the Mining department, the 59 mines are lying closed due to delays in approval of a series of statutory regulations like the Forest Conservation Act, the Environment Clearance Act and the Plan of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM). The concerned ministries of the Union government give approval to these regulations on the recommendations of the state government.
However, due to lack of proper coordination between the Odisha government and the Centre and the absence of proper follow up by the leaseholders, 59 mines have failed to get approval for operation. Among the 31 mines that are in operation in the Joda mining circle, 10 have been acquired through auction by the leaseholders after 2020. Over 874.84,000 lakh MT minerals have been mined in 2022-23 FY and 718.34,000 lakh MT minerals transported to various destinations. This has resulted in collection of Rs 16,894 crore as revenue.
However, had the other 59 mines been in operation, revenues could have gone up manifold. The Odisha government and its allied bodies are not the only ones suffering from revenue losses, the collection of the National Minerals Exploration Trust (NMET) has also declined.
On the other hand, leaseholders who got the mines through auction are paying higher premiums to run those. The leaseholders of the remaining 21 mines whose tenures are in force have been exempted from paying premiums. They are only paying revenues and their share to DMF. When contacted, mine owner and scribe Sirish Chandra Mohanty said that the Centre should implement its ‘One Nation, One Tax’ rule which will usher in healthy competition and transparency in the mining and industrial sectors.