Chhattisgarh registers fivefold increase in mineral revenue

Revenue from minerals in Chhattisgarh has increased by fivefold over the past decade.

The mineral-rich state contributes 16 per cent of the minerals produced in the country. The state has been endowed with 28 types of minerals, which include diamond, coal, iron ore, limestone, bauxite, dolomite, tin ore etc.

According to the report of the state’s mining directorate, Chhattisgarh had produced minerals worth about Rs 20,000 crore in the financial year 2015-16 and earned a revenue of Rs 3,709 crore. The revenue earned was almost five times the revenue collected by the state from minerals in 2005-06.

With the increasing graph of mineral production, the state has registered a growth of almost twofold in the past six years. Minerals valuing Rs 10,674 crore were produced during 2008-2009.

The production of black gold tops the list. The state has 16.36 per cent of the total deposits of coal, with a 41,442 million tonnes reserve. It has been contributing over 19.32 per cent to the total national coal output. The state produced coal worth about Rs 11,000 crore, which was almost 80 per cent more than the coal produced in 2010-11.

With 2,336 million tonnes of iron ore deposit in the state, Chhattisgarh contains 16.20 per cent of the total iron ore deposit in the country. The mineral is second in terms of production in the state. In 2015-16, iron ore worth Rs 10,000 crore had been production in the state.

The state would also get a royalty of Rs 193 crore from minor minerals. The royalty would be transferred to the respective panchayats and civic bodies for local area development.

Chhattisgarh has also set up District Mineral Foundation in all the 27 districts. Till the month of August, an amount of Rs 652 crore had been deposited in the foundations, which would be used for local development in the respective district.