Govt must ensure enough mining blocks for everyone: JSPL's Naveen Jindal

He said there are challenges in mining in India that need to be taken care of through a single window system

The government must ensure that there are enough mining blocks for everyone, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd chairman Naveen Jindal said on Thursday.

He said there are challenges in mining in India, issues like land acquisition, rehabilitation of people, getting clearances, etc, that needs to be taken care of through a single window system which is lacking in our country.

"In India, there are too many entrepreneurs and too much of competition for every block. The government sometimes creates an artificial scarcity or shortage by leaving a few blocks of iron ore or coal and too many people participate aggressively to get the minerals and thereby erode all competitiveness forever, as the competitiveness is not only within the country but also internationally," Jindal said speaking at The Bengal Chamber organised mining e-conclave.

"This aggressive competition makes the mineral way too expensive and that is how the mineral loses all its strength. Government must ensure that there are enough blocks for everyone. The supports needed by the mining companies are lacking," he said.

The Government of India also charges the highest royalty in the world on all minerals apart from all so many other taxes like the district mineral fund, GST compensation, cess on coal, and 25 per cent income tax on profit, the industrialist said.

There had been intense bidding for iron-ore mines that went under the hammer but in the case of coal blocks government received strong demand for only select mining blocks and many remained untouched in the last two rounds of bidding for blocks of the dry fuel.