By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Sambalpur MP and former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has responded to the letter sent by Opposition Leader Naveen Patnaik to Odisha MPs regarding the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026 (MMDR Amendment Act, 2026). He stated in the letter that misleading the people of Odisha by hiding facts and creating false fear is unacceptable.
MP Shri Pradhan mentioned in his letter that while political debate is a natural process in a democracy, as the voice of Odisha in Parliament, our primary responsibility is to protect the broad and structural interests of the state’s economy along with national development. The MMDA Amendment Act, 2026 is a historic step that will ensure economic growth, infrastructure development, safeguard state revenue and protect citizens from inflation.
The opposition party leaders’ fears that Odisha will lose its revenue share are completely unfounded. Under the new law, about 90% of the total revenue earned from the mining sector will go directly to the state exchequer. Odisha will get 110% of its auction premium, 15% of the royalty and the entire share of the District Mineral Fund (DMF) fund as before. On the other hand, before 2014, mines were being distributed arbitrarily and in an unhygienic manner to families and companies of its choice, as a result of which Odisha’s annual mining revenue was limited to a mere Rs 5,000 crore. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic MMDA amendment increased the clean e-auction and royalty from 10% to 15%. As a result, the state’s annual mining revenue has increased tenfold to about Rs 50,000 crore.
The imposition of uncontrolled and arbitrary taxes on mineral land was likely to lead to the closure of mines and industries in industrial areas like Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul and Jajpur, which would have threatened the livelihood of lakhs of youth. In addition, the cost of raw materials like steel, cement, electricity and coal would have increased, putting a burden on the average middle-class family of the state. Article 9D has fixed a specific limit to prevent this uncontrolled tax, or has the threat of such a threat been averted.
Shri Pradhan further mentioned in the letter that from 2015 till date, more than Rs 37,000 crore has been received for the development of mining areas of Odisha through the DMF formed by the Central Government. Similarly, quoting the CAG report, Shri Pradhan said that during the previous BJD government, Rs 983 crore was spent in 976 villages that were not affected by mining at all, while no funds were given to 584 villages that were directly affected. In addition, the CAG audit report has revealed that 1,730 projects were carried out without the approval of the Gram Sabha.
Along with this, after the High Court struck down the ORISED (Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development Act), 2004, in 2005, the BJD government wasted 18 years of time by filing cases in the Supreme Court without bringing any amendments in the Assembly to rectify the legal errors. Odisha MPs have supported the MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament for the benefit of the bigwigs, industrial prosperity and employment security of the youth of the state. Shri Pradhan has called upon the opposition party leaders to rise above partisanship and support this historic law that ensures the economic development of the state.
