Goa's revenue target hit after Karnataka bans ore transport

The ban on transport of iron ore from Karnataka to the coastal state has upset Goa's target of earning Rs 15 crore as transportation cess.

Transport Director Arun Desai said that almost Rs 4 crore would be lost, as the neighbouring government has continued with the ban.

Goa had projected Rs 50 crore in the form of overall transport cess, of which Rs 15 crore was projected through trucks, transporting iron ore from Karnataka.
    
Goa is also collecting cess from trucks transporting ore for exports extracted within the state and also tax is levied on the coke and coal import in the state.
    
The state government which introduced this tax two years back has named it as Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess.
    
Officials said Rs 50 per tonne is charged as transport cess on the ore brought from Karnataka while for the locally extracted ore, it is Rs 20 per tonne.
    
A total of 44 metric tonnes ore is exported from Goa's two ports, Mormugao Port Trust and Panaji minor port.
    
Of the total export, almost four metric tonnes is from Karnataka's Bellari and Hospet area, which load their material in the trans shippers at Goa ports.
    
The Karnataka government has banned the ore transportation to Goan ports since June, this year. Although the latest developments indicate that Yedyurappa-led government has lifted the ban, the transporation is yet to start.
    
"We have received a communication that the ban is lifted, but I heard that there is another issue related to forest clearance that has cropped up," Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries Vice President Manguirish Pai Raikar told PTI.
    
He said the stoppage of ore from Karnataka has not only affected the revenue collection but also has left sponge iron plants in the state waiting for raw material.