BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy to withdraw the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
In a letter to the PM, the DCM expressed opposition to the provisions that seek to restrict the powers of state governments to levy taxes and cess on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.
In the letter, Parameshwara, who is also revenue minister, said the Union becomes stronger when states become stronger. “The nation prospers when its states possess the resources and autonomy to prosper. I urge you to reconsider the present legislation and initiate a comprehensive dialogue with states so that a constitutionally sound, economically prudent and genuinely federal framework for mineral taxation can be evolved,’’ he wrote.
The DCM urged the Union government to reconsider the Bill in its present form and refrain from bringing its impugned provisions into force.
He urged the Centre to initiate a structured and time-bound consultation with all state governments, particularly mineral-producing states, before proceeding with any legislation affecting their powers of taxation over mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.
He also urged the PM and the Union minister to constitute an appropriate Centre-state consultative mechanism to examine the constitutional, fiscal, economic, environmental and investment implications of mineral taxation. Take into consideration existing and proposed state legislation, including the Karnataka (Mineral Rights and Mineral Bearing Land) Tax Bill, 2024, he stated.
Parameshwara also stressed on the Supreme Court’s judgment in 2024 in the Mineral Area Development Authority vs Steel Authority of India Ltd case.
