Panel proposes no profit sharing clause for coal miners

The parliamentary panel on coal and steel today submitted its recommendation on The Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) bill. The panel suggested that companies mining coal and lignite instead of sharing profit with local communities should pay equivalent amount to state government’s District Mineral Corporations, reports CNBC-TV18’s Rituparna Bhuyan

MMDR bill, which was passed by parliament in September 2011 mandated coal mining companies to share 26 per cent of their profits with people impacted by projects and in the case of non-coal miners, an amount equivalent to royalty was required to be paid to the state government. Also read: Govt to pool coal supplies, pass on higher cost of imports
Another major relaxation for mining companies suggested by the Panel was that royalty for coal miners will now be fixed by coal ministry, instead of the earlier proposal of the National Mining Regulator fixing it. However, when it comes to cess that the state governments will charge or levy on royalty, the committee has recommended that more power and flexibility should be given to the state governments. The MMDR bill had obligated mining firms to pay 10 percent cess to state governments and 2.5 percent to the centre on the total royalty paid.