Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will stage a mass protest at Lower PMG here on September 28 demanding withdrawal of the MMDR Amendment Act, senior party leader Debi Prasad Mishra said on Thursday.
BJD supremo and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, is scheduled to lead the agitation, Mishra said at a press conference here.
The regional party has been opposing the amendment since its introduction, alleging that it curtails the rights of states over mines and mineral-bearing lands and affects the federal structure.
Mishra claimed that Odisha, which he said accounts for around 44 per cent of the country’s mineral resources, would be among the states most affected by the amended legislation.
Former minister Pratap Jena termed the amendment a “black law” and alleged that it had adversely affected Odisha’s financial interests.
Jena said the then BJD government had enacted legislation in 2004 enabling the state to impose taxes and levies on mines and mineral-bearing lands. The provision was subsequently challenged by mining companies and the matter remained pending before the Supreme Court, he said.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s July 25, 2024 verdict by a nine-judge Constitution Bench, Jena said the court had held that state governments had the power to levy taxes on mines and minerals.
According to Jena, the verdict had opened the possibility of Odisha receiving around Rs 1 lakh crore in arrears and Rs 12,000 crore annually in additional mining revenue. He alleged that the MMDR Amendment Act had deprived the state of this opportunity.
The BJD has been campaigning against the amended law, with the September 28 protest being its latest move to press for its withdrawal.
