This effectively means that instead of paying Rs 300 a tonne royalty on iron ore, a miner will now have to pay Rs 600 though he would continue to sell the ore anywhere between Rs 4,500 and Rs 8,000 a tonne. A 26% revenue share would have forced the miner to share Rs 1,100-Rs 2,000 to those displaced in tribal dominated districts.
Apart from the miners, industry lobbies such as Ficci had sought a dilution in the proposal, which was also endorsed by a committee headed by former finance secretary Ashok Chawla. The panel has suggested auction of most natural resources. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia too had opposed the move.
The change in government stance also coincides with the change of guard in the mines ministry. Dinsha Patel, the new minister, reversed his predecessor B K Handique's move to go for profit sharing to improve the plight of displaced tribals. Handique had batted for direct compensation to the displaced families, while Patel has managed to get the ministerial panel to endorse transferring the additional royal to a government-run fund. Read the full report here.
Source: Times News Network, New Delhi.
