Bhubaneswar, 21 August (H.S.): Former Union Minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan has strongly rebutted former Odisha Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik’s criticism of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, accusing him of misleading the people of Odisha over the legislation.

Responding to Patnaik’s video message opposing the Bill, Pradhan said political differences were understandable, but facts should not be concealed to create confusion among the people. He described the proposed legislation as an important step towards strengthening mineral security and protecting the economic interests of mineral-rich states such as Odisha.

Pradhan said Section 9D of the Bill seeks to cap the burden of multiple layers of mining taxation without affecting the basic revenue accruing to states. He claimed the provision would help prevent the closure of mining and industrial units facing excessive tax liabilities and protect the livelihoods of lakhs of people in mineral-rich districts including Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul and Jajpur.

He also argued that excessive taxation of 70-80 per cent on minerals could have pushed up the prices of iron ore, coal and cement, affecting industries, infrastructure development and household expenses. According to him, Odisha’s auction premium, royalty and DMF revenues would continue to accrue fully to the state government under the new framework.

Highlighting the Centre’s mining reforms, Pradhan claimed that Odisha’s annual mining revenue, which stood at around ₹5,000 crore in 2014, has risen to nearly ₹50,000 crore following the 2015 MMDR reforms, which introduced transparent auctions, increased ad valorem royalty from 10 per cent to 15 per cent and established the DMF mechanism. He further claimed that Odisha has received around ₹37,000 crore through DMF funds.

Giving an example, Pradhan said that if iron ore is sold at an average price of ₹3,000 per tonne, Odisha receives about ₹3,300 as auction premium, ₹450 as royalty and ₹45 through DMF, amounting to approximately ₹3,795 per tonne for the state exchequer.

Pradhan also questioned the previous BJD government’s record on mining taxation and state finances. He said Odisha’s total debt had increased from around ₹18,000 crore in 2000 to more than ₹96,000 crore by 2024, while per-capita debt rose from about ₹6,000 to ₹26,000.

He urged Naveen Patnaik to explain specifically what Odisha stands to lose from the MMDR Amendment Bill instead of, what he termed, attempting to mislead the people over its provisions.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda