Ranchi, Aug 17 (PTI) Jharkhand’s Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi on Monday called the ruling JMM and Congress’ opposition to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill a “political drama”, claiming that states’ mineral revenue had increased substantially in the last 10 years.
Marandi said the revenue received by states from the mineral sector rose from Rs 25,206 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,14,549 crore in 2025-26, an increase of around 354 per cent.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, the revenue that states receive from the mineral sector has been continuously increasing,” the BJP leader said.
He said states’ share of the total mineral revenue had increased from around 60 per cent in 2014-15 to over 88 per cent in 2024-25.
“In this context, claiming that the Centre is usurping the states’ mineral revenue is an attempt to mislead the public,” the former chief minister said.
Marandi accused the Jharkhand government of creating confusion over the MMDR Amendment Bill, claiming that its provisions would not deprive states of their mining revenue.
“The objective of the Bill is not to deprive states of their mining revenue. Their share in royalties, DMF, NMET, auction premiums and GST will remain unchanged, and they will continue to receive around 90 per cent of the payments generated from the mining sector,” he said.
Criticising the state’s mining policy, Marandi claimed that the government had imposed a flat cess of Rs 600 per tonne on iron ore, compared with Rs 22.50 per tonne in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, affecting production and the market, particularly for low-grade iron ore.
He also claimed that the cess on coal was increased from Rs 100 to Rs 450 per tonne within 16 months.
“During this period, BCCL’s production dropped from 40.50 million tonnes to 35.52 million tonnes, a decline of 12.3 per cent,” Marandi said.
He urged the state government to operationalise auctioned mines to increase mineral revenue.
“Over the past six years, Jharkhand auctioned only four mines, yet not a single one became operational. In contrast, Odisha operationalised 35 mines and earned approximately Rs 87,000 crore in auction premiums, whereas Jharkhand received zero revenue from auction premiums,” he claimed. PTI SAN SAN SOM
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