Two-day ISCMR meet begins in J'khand

Ranchi, Apr 12(UNI) A two-day meet of Inter-State Council of Mineral Resources(ISCMR) began here today to discuss the contentious mineral royalty issue.

Representatives from Gujrat, Orissa, Jharkhand and other mineral producing states were participating in the meet and would discuss about a recent report of mineral royalty submitted by the Tata Energy Research Institute.

Meanwhile, official sources told UNI that all the coal and iron ore producing states would also build presure on the Union government to adopt ad-valorem system (royalty based on prices of minerals). At present ad-valorem royalty was being paid on selected minerals.

Other dignatories likely to participate in the meet were Coal India Limited Chairman Partho Bhattacharya, Additional Secretary of coal ministry S P Seth, Chief Secretaries of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Jharkhand's cabinet secretary J B Tubud, Industry Secretary S K Satpathi and welfare secretary N N Pandey, along with others, were also present at the inaugural session of the meet.

UNI