Yet to assess impact of mines Act on Odisha, says Minister as leg

Odisha’s government has told the Assembly that it has not yet made a quantified estimate of how Section 9D of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, could affect the State’s revenue.

Assembly questions focus on revenue risk

The issue dominated the Odisha Assembly on Thursday, with legislators raising repeated questions on the potential loss to the State exchequer after the implementation of the amended mines law.

The recent amendments made by Parliament have restricted the power of State governments to impose taxes, cess and other levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.

Legislators across party lines sought to know whether the State government had assessed the impact of the Act on Odisha’s revenue.

Their questions focused particularly on Section 9D, which stops State governments from placing independent taxes or cesses on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands without the approval of the Union government.

Written answers were sought through as many as 13 questions, reflecting the scale of concern among MLAs over the possible implications for Odisha’s finances.

Replying to the questions, Steel and Mines Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena said the State government had not yet conducted a quantified assessment of Section 9D’s impact on State revenue.

“No specific estimate of financial gain or loss has been made at this stage regarding the amended provisions,” the Minister said.

Mr. Jena added that the State government would assess the financial impact after the Central government formulates the necessary rules and regulations.

Minister says earlier figures not departmental assessment

Opposition parties also referred to arguments made by Odisha’s Advocate General while representing the State in the Supreme Court, where he had justified imposing a levy on mineral-bearing lands.

In response, the Minister said the figures and positions referred to as having been published in the Odisha Review, a government publication, or placed before the Supreme Court were not being treated as a departmental assessment for quantifying the present financial impact of Section 9D.

“Any such comparison would be made only after the legal and operational implications of the amended provision are fully ascertained,” he said.

The Minister’s statement placed the government’s position on the immediate financial impact of the amendment in a pending-assessment framework, rather than accepting existing figures as the basis for revenue calculations.

Responding to questions raised by several MLAs, including the ruling BJP’s Prakash Soren, Mr. Jena said appropriate measures would be taken in accordance with existing laws and statutory provisions.

He said such measures would be aimed at safeguarding the State’s mineral resources and revenue interests.

Earlier assurances and political pushback

The Minister’s reply came even as Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier dismissed concerns about possible loss to the State exchequer due to the recent amendments.

The Assembly exchanges therefore came against a political backdrop in which the government had not yet quantified the impact, while concerns over possible revenue loss had already been publicly rejected by senior leaders.

Meanwhile, the BJD and the INDIA bloc parties have called for protests in front of the Assembly on September 28 and 29 respectively.

They have alleged that the State stands to lose over ₹1 lakh crore in tax arrears and ₹12,000 crore in annual revenue as per the provisions of the amended Act.

The BJD said party president Naveen Patnaik would lead its rally to demand repeal of the Act.

“Since Odisha possesses 44% of the total mineral resources available in the country, the State will suffer the maximum loss,” the party stated.

The party also said it was unfortunate that State BJP leaders had been arguing that Odisha would benefit rather than suffer losses.

The BJD said the protest would be expanded to the entire State.

The dispute now centres on whether the amended law will materially reduce Odisha’s fiscal space from mineral-bearing lands and mineral rights, a question the State government says it will assess only after the Central government frames the necessary rules and regulations.

For now, the government has not accepted any specific figure as its departmental estimate of gain or loss from Section 9D, while Opposition parties and the BJD have continued to project substantial possible losses under the amended Act.

Source: The Hindu