The chief minister of the Indian state of Jharkhand has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider a bill that would restrict states’ ability to levy charges on mining activities.
In an August 13 letter to Modi posted on X, CM Hemant Soren said the state’s Mineral Bearing Land Cess was expected to generate about 71.1 billion rupees ($744.97 million) a year and that mining-related revenue was critical to the eastern state’s finances.
Soren said that mining revenue accounted for 84.9% of Jharkhand’s own non-tax revenue in fiscal year 2024-25.
“Any substantial restriction on this revenue would directly affect Jharkhand’s ability to sustain development, welfare and social-security interventions,” Soren said.
India’s parliament on Thursday passed a bill that will restrict state governments from imposing new taxes or other levies on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land unless permitted under conditions set by the federal government.
The bill aims to create a uniform tax framework for the mining sector and address what the federal government says is excessive and uneven fiscal burden on miners across states.
The fallout could go beyond government finances, Soren said, raising public discontent and social tensions in communities that have long borne the costs of mining.
($1 = 95.4400 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Jatindra Dash and Abhinav Parmar; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
