Orissa to fight for mineral rights issue - Naveen

Bhubaneswar, Aug 8 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said the fight against the Central government on the mineral rights issue would continue in the greater interest of the state till the Centre conceded the demand.

Mr Patnaik, who led the Chief Ministers of five mineral-rich states - Jharkhand, Chhatisgarha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Orissa - to New Delhi, told newsmen on his arrival here that in a democratic federal set-up the Union government should respect the justified demands of the states.

Mr Patnaik said they met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, heading the Group of Ministers committee, constituted to recommend for the formulation of the National Mineral policy, and told him to discuss with the Chief Ministers of five mineral-rich states and incorporate their views in the draft before making any suggestion to the Cabinet.

He said they had also submitted a joint memorandum, copy of the draft mineral policy and the recommendations of the Hoda Committee to the Prime Minister.

The mineral-rich states had been opposing the Hoda Committee recommendation for seamless transition from reconaissaince permit to prospecting license and further to mining lease.

The five states had opposed the Committee's recommendation that the validity period of a mining lease be automatically extended and there should be no need for renewal.

The Hoda Committee also recommended to abolish the right of the state government to recommend the cases of applicants, who wanted to set up their industries in their states by rejecting the claims of other applicants, not accepted by the mineral-rich states.

The mineral-rich states, Mr Patnaik said, demanded mineral rights of the state to ensure value addition, 20 to 25 per cent ad-valorem based on royalty on iron ore instead of the current tonnage and quality based royalty that did not benefit the states much.

The mineral-rich states also demanded a ban on export of iron ore and demanded value addition.

UNI