By IANS,
Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Thursday sought “value-based” royalty on coal and iron ore, and an assistance of Rs.1,055 crore to develop police infrastructure to fight Maoist insurgents in the state.
“The state is getting just Rs.18 per tonne as royalty on iron-ore. While after value addition, the steel manufacturers are selling the product for about Rs.30,000 a tonne,” Singh told members of the 13th Finance Commission led by its chairman Vijay L. Kelkar.
Singh held a meeting with the commission members and submitted a memorandum seeking assistance of Rs.15,811 crore for the state for 2010-15.
In the memorandum, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government emphasised that it wanted to improve basic facilities in the field of education, health, tribal welfare, forest, public works, panchayat, urban development and other sectors.
Singh also sought increase in the rail infrastructure in the state. “Despite sharing highest revenue for the railways, the state remains neglected in the sector.”
The state government also drew the attention of the commission members to the menace of Maoist insurgency in the state and sought Rs.1,055 crore assistance for developing police and jail infrastructure.