No move to increase coal royalty, says Shibu Soren

Raipur, June 10 : Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren today ruled out the possibility of increasing the royalty on coal, saying such a step would adversely affect coal prices.

Talking to newspersons here, he said his ministry was yet to receive any proposal from the Chhattisgarh government, demanding an increase in royalty on coal.

When pointed out that the state government has been demanding an increase in royalty since long, Mr Soren said Chief Minister Raman Singh had met him in New Delhi recently but did not discuss the issue.

Stating that the increase would put additional burden on the common masses, he said the state government concerned must make efforts to increase the volume of coal mining so that it could earn more royalty.

UNI