KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Close on the heels of imposing penalties on iron-ore and manganese miners, the government of the eastern Indian province of Odisha is readying for a clampdown on coal and other nonferrous mineral miners for production beyond approved mining plans.
The Odisha government is preparing notices to be issued to coal and nonferrous ore mining companies imposing hefty penalties for illegal extraction.
While no official information is available on the total value of the penalties, indications from sources are that it could be as much as $7.81-billion.
The miners featuring on the list to receive the penalty notices include companies operating coal, chromite, limestone and dolomite mines in Odisha.
Following the August 2 verdict of the Supreme Court, Odisha had issued notices imposing a penalty of $3.17-billion on miners for extracting iron and manganese ore beyond permissible limits.
A government official said that although the Supreme Court verdict was specifically for illegal extraction of iron and manganese ore, the Odisha government was following the principles laid down in the verdict in the cases of coal and other nonferrous mines, saying miners would have to pay a penalty of 100% of the value of minerals extracted beyond the approved limits.
According to the official, against the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict, the provincial government has concluded that there could not be any differentiation based on the nature of minerals extracted and that the onus of being penalised remained the same irrespective of the mineral extracted.
While acknowledging that the notices once issued to the mining leaseholders would be open for challenge in the courts, the Odisha government had also sought legal opinion and would hold meetings with leaseholders once the latter received the penalty demands, the official added.