By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has demanded immediate revision of the royalty on non-coal minerals as the central government has not made any revision since 2004, the office of the chief minister stated here Wednesday.
The revision has been due since October 2007.
Patnaik called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi Tuesday and strongly urged that royalty on non-coal minerals be revised immediately and should be at least 20 percent of the price of such minerals ad valorem, the chief minister’s office said in a statement.
The chief minister has also drawn the attention of the prime minister to the recommendations of the 11th and 12th Finance Commissions that states should be entitled to compensation in case revision is not done when due.
“While mining royalty is not being revised for years together, the union government has been levying export duty on different ores which is not being passed on to the states,” the statement quoted Patnaik as saying.
Patnaik has urged that such levies should be entirely passed on to the states of origin of the exported ore. Orissa is among the most mineral-rich states in India.