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Mine owners and the Odisha government are on a collision course yet again. The mining industry which is possibly at its lowest ebb, is irked over the inordinately slow process of clearing renewal applications of mines- a situation that has piled up royalty loss for the government and despair for the lessees.
Only 96 mines in the state are in a working state- less than a sixth of a total of 601 leases. More than 200 applications for renewal are waiting to be disposed off.
“The Odisha government alone is to be blamed for mines not being renewed for 10 to 20 years. The government has prayed to the Supreme Court to allow it three months more to pass express orders for 18 mines that were affected by the court order. The government is losing royalty, there is huge loss of employment. There is no lack of clarity on the mining laws or their amendments. The situation is all due to lack of will of the Odisha government. And, the industry has taken it as a fait accompli,” said R K Sharma, secretary general, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI).
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In its May 16 interim order, the apex court had disallowed operations of all leases awaiting second and subsequent renewal until the state government came out with an express order under Section 8 (3) of Mines and Minerals- Development & Regulation- MMDR Act, 1957 to enable their functioning. The top court's order had affected operations of 26 iron ore and manganese mines, holding back supply of nearly 40 million tonne of iron ore.
The state, through express orders, had enabled operations of eight mines. But the same orders were pending for 18 more mines for which the government had requested three months time from the apex court after the mandated deadline expired on November 15.
But the problem, Sharma said, was not of iron ore shortage. “The steel makers would not suffer that much even if the 18 mines remain idle for a few more months. It is the repercussion on employment generation and revenue that is worrying,” he said.
Revenue collection from mining is on a downrend since the beginning of this fiscal, casting fears that the state government may miss its targeted revenue. Mining revenue plummeted 16.77 per cent to Rs 3,582.11 crore by the end of October this year compared to Rs 4,303.77 crore posted in the year-ago period.
Echoing similar views, an official of a large standlone miner said, “There is no shortage since the state based steel units need only 20 million tonne iron ore in a year. Odisha produced 78 million tonne of the ore last fiscal. The mining industry and the end users have suffered because of the extremely slow government procedures.”
A top official at the state steel & mines department said, clearing renewal applications can be time consuming and this should not be misconstrued as lack of government will. “As far as the 18 mines are concerned, we have asked for an extension of three months from the Supreme Court and we hope to process them by then.”
Prabhakar Rout, mining expert and vice president, Utkal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (UCCI) said, “The mining industry in the state is in a very bad shape. Express orders for the 18 mines (suspended after the Supreme Court order) have been held up for no reason.”
