Monday, 19 December 2011 22:55
DEVELOPMENT DEFICIT
BY Sudarshan Chhotoray
The MB Shah Commission of Inquiry has just completed investigations related to the allegation of multi crore mining scam in the State. Much before the visit of the Shah panel, the State had witnessed much hue and cry over illegal mining. Both the ruling and Opposition parties had leveled allegations against each other.
For effective preservation and utilisation of mines and minerals, Mines Act-1952, Mines Rules-1955, Mines Mineral (Development Regulation) Act-1957, Mineral Concession Rules-1960, Mineral Conservation and Development Rules-1988 etc were enacted and enforced. Later, some amendments also were made vide MC (Amendment) Rules-2000 and MCD (Amendment) Rules-2000. Subsequently, the State Government enacted local acts like Odisha Minerals (Prevention of theft, smuggling and other unlawful activities) Act and Rules 1988 and 1990, Gemstone policy of Odisha-1988, Odisha Miner Mineral Concession Rule, 2004 and Odisha Minerals (Prevention of Theft, Smuggling and Illegal Mining and Regulation of Possession, Storing, Trading and Transportation) Rules-2007.
Ownership of mines passes through allotment of lease, demarcation of lease area distinguishing the surface area, broken area, residential area and forest land by the departments of revenue, mines, forest and environment.
According to a report prepared by “Committee for Rational and Scientific Utilisation of Natural Resources for Sustainable Growth, till 2002,” the exploration of minerals in Odisha was nominal. China provided the fillip to the production in iron ore after it started to import iron ore fines in a large scale in the wake of 2008 Beijing Olympic. The iron ore fines that were dumped as waste products without any market value for years were lifted for price more than the iron ore lump.
While from 1947 to 2000, 326,001,000 metric tons of iron ore was produced, only within 11 years, i.e. from 2001 to 2011, a huge quantity of 545,746,323 metric tons of iron ore was produced. The report further said, when the iron ore fines dumps produced as bi-product were exhausted, the cost of iron ore went up by ten times in international market. Since there was restriction on export of iron ore lump, the mine lease holders in Odisha being allured by quick and easy money from such price rise and to meet the demand of China market, started crushing the valuable iron ore lump for the purpose of exporting fines. During the last six years, the cost of iron ore increased grade-wise 20 to 40 times more than it was in 2001.
Ajeya Rout, a prominent trade union activist, said, “Iron ore cost during the last decade doubled i.e. from Rs 100 per MT to Rs 200 per MT. The total cost of raising the iron ore at the maximum would come to Rs 300 per MT where as the profit rate is still found to be 1000 per cent, which is 50 times of the profit earned by the mine owners in 2001. The market demand was much more than the quantity of iron ore produced. Eighty million tones were raised last year as per official record. There is no official record showing the quantity looted.”
Grant of lease is purely discretionary and depends upon the mercy of the Government machinery. But in practice, the right has become hereditary. The lease granted before Independence still stands in favour of the same person/lessee or his heirs. The OEA Act-1951 was enacted to reform the social imbalance after the Independence and has been amended 20 times to keep pace with the changing society. The lease of mines depending on capacity of the person in his name and the other’s name (benami)) were granted. Now initiative is taken for grant of mining lease to the foreign companies. The procedure for mine lease remains unchanged for reasons well known to the bureaucrats and politicians.
Manas Jena, an expert in mining, said, “From 1995 to 2000, the private mine lease hold land disputes were settled. But the public undertaking specifically OMC Limited faced huge loss with the enforcement of laws; most of the mines were closed in the name of forest conservation or otherwise. The OMC personnel did not bother about the interest of the corporation and have suppressed the matter”.
Random rising of minerals utilising huge machineries day and night along with plying of 20,000 trucks and dumpers affected environment severely. Even for the last 10 years not a single green leaf was found in the surrounding areas of mines in the concerned districts.
Dumping of over burden in haphazard manner has serious effects.
Riverbed of Baitarani and its tributary were subjected to random and careless dumping of overburden by mines owned by TATA, IDC, OMDC, SC PADHI, RUNGTA, HG
PANDIA, SL MINING, NARAYANI & SONS, TATA STEEL, SAROJINI PRADHAN, SARADA MINES, BHANJDEO MINERALS, GANDHAMARDAN MINES OF OMC and several sponge Iron plants like SRI METALIX, Phuljhar, Hari MACHINE SPONG, Basantpur, SR STEEL SPONG IRON, (Dubuna), Basantpur, PATNAIK STEEL, Bhaghamarana, KUSHAPOWERMATE, Kutugaon, MS Sirajudin Spong Iron, Kutugaon, SRIGANESH SPONG IRON, Kutugaon, and TATA Sponge iron. Blasting operation was being conducted in hazardous manner deviating from all the security guide lines.
Raising of iron ore was done without any restriction and even beyond lease hold area. Even the public undertakings like OMC, OMDC and IDC pursued the same line. Although production increased and multiplied by 50 times, the strength of personnel of the departments of mining, forest and revenue was not enlarged. Rather the superannuation vacancy was not filled up which showed either the Government was callous on supervising and monitoring work in mining operation or in connivance with the mines lease holders allowed the mines lease holders to carry on their illegal activities.
The transit permits were printed or photo copied by lease holders. The reconciliation of quantity of ores produced, number of trucks engaged for carrying ores, records from different weigh bridges, consumption by
factories inside Odisha and supplied to outside Odisha factories, exports through four ports, printing records of Odisha Government Press, Bhubaneswar and production records of lease holders and number of transit permits issued by DDMs will clear the position.
More than twenty thousand trucks loaded with iron ore were plying daily on NH 215, 200, 23,6, 5 and 5/A and its connecting roads. The number of weigh bridges was about 15. Maximum 3,000 trucks can be weighed, even if weighing continued round the clock. As such, adequate staff was not engaged by the Government for recording weight in existing weigh bridges.
The implementation of value adding system to our mineral was not properly looked into. Multinational companies rushed to Odisha to sign MOU with the Government for installation of mega steel plants by acquiring mines lease since raw materials could be cheaply available i.e. Rs 27 per MT. The steel price was raised from Rs 16, 000 per MT to Rs 50, 000 per MT.
In 2007, the Government being tempted to earn more revenue made the trade licensing process lengthier and costlier by 10 times. The traders were harassed. The Government had deliberately shut its ears for market price of minerals specifically iron ore. The mine lease holders monopolized the market paying only Rs 7 to Rs 27 per MT where as price (ex-mines) of iron ore in the international market
sky-rocketed to 25 times i.e. from Rs 200 per MT to Rs 5, 000 per MT. Since August 2009, the market price is being fixed by IBM for royalty purpose collecting data from the mine owners about their sale price after 5 years of boom enjoyed by them. Such process was initiated after the royalty rate was decided to be fixed on ad valorem basis against sale price of iron ore.
The market price of minerals gradually increased and suddenly rose in 2003 and it rose 10 times than the price prevailing in 2004-05, but the rate of royalty for iron ore was enhanced by Rs 2 only per MT during the month of October 2004. Since August 2009, only the royalty for iron ore was fixed at 10 per cent of the sale value, whereas the export duty is fixed at 20 per cent of the export value.
The major part of income tax collected from Odisha mine holders is deposited in other States since their
corporate offices are located outside Odisha, thereby Odisha is derived of share from income tax.
The administrative restriction so far as the mining activities are concerned was nothing until the allegation of irregular and illegal mining in Rambahadur Thakur Mines was raised in the Odisha Legislative Assembly in July 2009. With much reluctance, the Government ordered for vigilance enquiry. Demand by opposition for C.B.I probe was rejected by the State Government and now the matter is sub-judice in the High Court of Odisha.
(The writer is a senior freelance journalist)
No comments:
Post a Comment