Naveen demands suitable compensation on delay in royalty revision

Bhubaneswar, June 07 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today demanded suitable compensation to the state for the loss of revenue due to delay in revision of royalty on coal for the last two years.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Minister said, Orissa, one of the mineral-based states, had been adversely affected due to the policies adopted at the national level and demanded to modify the royalty on advalorem basis instead of adoption of hybrid formula.

Mr Patnaik said the rate of royalty should be fixed at 20 per cent of the sale price and the clause related to adjustment of royalty for cess should be deleted to strengthen the resource position of the state.

The Chief Minister demanded that the export duty levied on Chrome and iron ore should be passed on to the state and the centre should initiate steps to add value by establishing mineral based plants in the state.

The Central government should take prompt action on the issue to help the state government mitigating the problem and carry forward the process of development, he said.

The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to empower the state to collect tax on power exported to other states and to give a part of the power generated free of cost to the state to compensate the loss the state had suffered due to environmental pollution.

He demanded that the central government must share the additional burden on account of revision of pay scales for the state government employees in the wake of the Sixth Pay Commission report as the state with low resource base would not be in a position to bear the full burden of the revision of pay scales.

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