Centre rejects Odisha’s Demand for Coal Royalty Revision

The Centre has ruled out the Odisha government’s plea for the  revision of royalty on coal which is 14 per cent at present. Coal Secretary Anil Swarup, who met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, said at present the Centre is not considering any such proposal for revision of royalty on coal.

Swarup said, such a move will lead to increase in the price of coal raising the price of power, and will ultimately hamper the common man. He also said, fixing coal royalty is a national decision which applies to all states and not merely to a particular state.

The Chief Minister had recently demanded the Centre to consider the revision of coal royalty during his meeting with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.

Notably, the Centre had last revised it in April 2012 though there is a provision to revise the royalty in every three years.