BHUBANESWAR: The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was passed in the Lok Sabha without a debate on Wednesday. But the legislation which mandates that states will be restricted from levying additional tax on mineral rights has raised concerns in political circles over the possible loss to Odisha, a key mineral-bearing state.
After it was passed, senior BJD leader and former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain alleged that the Bill has been brought to overturn the historic verdict of the Supreme Court and benefit big mining companies. Stating that the Bill was against the interests of states like Odisha, Swain said it remains to be seen if the BJP government in the state would remain silent on the issue. The veteran BJD leader targeted 20 BJP MPs from Odisha for keeping mum during the passage of the Bill in the Lower House.
While Swain targeted the ruling BJP, his own party Biju Janata Dal too did not officially oppose the Bill provisions. There was no official statement from the regional party on the issue.
In 2024, the Supreme Court in a landmark verdict had restored states’ authority to impose cess on mining lands. After the judgement, mineral- bearing states such as Odisha expected a windfall gain since it revived the Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development Act, 2004 (ORISED Act) which prescribed to levy a tax of up to 20 per cent on the annual value of mineral-bearing lands. It was the then BJD government which had passed ORISED Act but the Orissa High Court struck it down and its corresponding 2005 rules, ruling that imposing such a tax on mineral-bearing land fell outside the state’s legislative competence.
Appealing against the HC judgement, the Odisha government had approached the SC. The apex court, in 2024, upheld authority of Indian states to levy taxes on mineral-bearing lands and permitted retrospective collection of dues starting from April 1, 2005, spread across 12 annual installments.
Meanwhile, Swain claimed that the BJD will raise the issue in the ensuing session of the Assembly and demanded that the state government clarify its stand at the earliest.