Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday urged Union Minister of Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi to pay soon the additional levy of Rs 4,169.86 crore on coal blocks of the state’s share.
Baghel also wanted an increase in the rates of coal royalty and notify the royalty rates of run-of-mine (ROM) of iron ore from the mines.
Baghel was participating in a virtual meeting with the Union Minister, an official communication said.
He said that large quantities of fine iron ore are deliberately produced in the mines. Due to the huge difference in the royalty of lumps and fines, the state suffers huge loss in royalty.
Seeking a holistic approach, he pointed out that royalty rates for coal have not been revised after 2014, causing loss to the state's revenue and other coal producing states.
Coal India should declare basic sale price in each quarter and the rate of royalty should be hiked from 14 to 16 percent.
As a producer state from June 2022, the state will be denied GST compensation. The loss will be Rs 5,000 crore in the first year.
Chhattisgarh has industries and mines but denied the actual benefits. With utilization of forest and land to mines, the pollution is on the increase, Baghel said.
The Chief Minister said that Gidhmuri-Paturia coal block and Madanpur South coal block (both Korba district), being under the Lemru Elephant Reserve, would not be considered for auction and mining.
He sought to keep the iron ore block of Kabirdham reserved for the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corp.
The Union Minister promised to consider the issues raised and appreciated the state government for operationalizing the first commercial coal mines.