BHUBANESWAR: Hours after BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s appeal to BJP MPs over the MMDR amendment Bill, Sambalpur MP and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan issued a stern rebuttal to his Opposition to the changes in the Act and accused the former chief minister of misleading the people by concealing facts.
Pradhan reiterated that the amendment was a historic step which would propel economic growth and infrastructure development in Odisha while protecting state revenues, local industries and consumers from inflationary pressures. Rejecting Naveen’s accusation that Odisha will lose its mining revenue, he said that 90 per cent of total mining sector revenue would continue to accrue to the state exchequer. “Odisha will retain auction premiums, royalty and district mineral foundation (DMF) fund collection under the revised framework,” he said. Pradhan credited the Narendra Modi government’s 2015 MMDR reforms, particularly mandatory e-auctions and the increase in ad-valorem royalty, for a substantial rise in the state’s mining revenues. He contrasted this with the pre-2014 period when, he alleged, mining concessions were distributed through non-transparent mechanisms.
Defending the amendment’s provisions on taxation, Pradhan said imposing multiple levies on mineral-bearing land could have adversely affected mining and manufacturing operations in districts such as Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul and Jajpur. Such levies would have increased the cost of steel, cement, power and coal and eventually burdened consumers. The section 9D of the amended law provides a ceiling on such levies while protecting state revenues, he asserted.
On DMF fund, he said more than Rs 37,000 crore has been generated in the state since the framework was established in 2015 for development of mining-affected areas. He accused the previous BJD government of financial irregularities in utilisation of these funds, citing CAG findings on expenditure in non-affected villages and projects executed without approval of gram sabhas.
Pradhan also criticised the Naveen-led BJD government’s handling of the Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development Act, 2004, alleging that despite the law being struck down by the Orissa High Court in 2005, the matter remained pending before the Supreme Court for 18 years without corrective legislation.
“Our MPs voted in Parliament to support the MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 in the larger interest of the state and the people, especially the youth,” Pradhan said and urged Naveen to look beyond partisan considerations and support the legislation.