Odisha can earn Rs 50, 000 cr a year by giving all mines to OMC: Mishra

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Bhubaneswar, July 25:

Odisha government can earn a whopping Rs 50,000 crore a year if it hands over all mines to the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) by accepting the recommendation of the the Sanjeev Hota Committee, said Leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra in the state Assembly yesterday.

The state government can make itself debt free with one year’s earnings, said Mishra while participating in the debate on the Appropriation Bill in the floor of the Assembly on Monday evening.

Similarly, the state government would have earned Rs 10,000 crore a year had it passed an act like that of West Bengal to collect cess on mineral bearing land. The government then did not accept opposition’s proposal and brought a law, which was quashed by the High Court. As a result, the state government is losing Rs 10,000 crore a year, said Mishra.

The senior Congress leader said had it been implemented, the poor people in the state would not have to pay any taxes at all.

The leader of the opposition alleged that the state government had failed in curbing law breakers, miners and industrialists and was avoiding all issues by citing the deeds of the previous governments.