Mining firms plan to plead for penalty review

Mining companies directed by the Supreme Court to pay 100 per cent of production cost as compensation for overproduction of iron and manganese are planning to file a review petition with the apex court.

They claim since they have already paid royalty and taxes, and have also borne logistics cost, the compensation amount they have been slapped with by the courtappointed central empowered committee (CEC) could be reduced.

“We are weighing legal options available. Miners are preparing to file a review petition on the Supreme Court order. But, the petition will be filed after we get revised demand notices from the Odisha government,” said Prabodh Mohanty, secretary, Eastern Zone Mining Association (EZMA).

In its order dated August 2, the Supreme Court called for recovery of 100 per cent compensation in lieu of the excess ore lifted.

Disposing off a writ petition in a case of rampant illegal mining in Odisha, the apex court ruled there cannot be compromise on the quantum of compensation that should be recovered from any defaulting lessee. The CEC had advocated recovery of 30 per cent of the cost of production as compensation.

According to the order, the compensation figure should be the one rationalised by the CEC. For ore production over the limits approved under environment clearance, the penalty by the CEC has been worked out at ~17,576.2 crore.

The exact compensation to be paid by mining companies is yet to be extrapolated. The state government is working on the figure, which industry sources estimate at about ~25,000 crore. According to the CEC report, miners illegally extracted 215.5 million tonnes of iron and manganese ore in Odisha between FY01 and FY10.

Deepak Mohanty, director of mines, Odisha, said, “The revised demand notices are yet to be despatched to the miners. We will comply with the Supreme Court order and send the notices soon.”

A clutch of miners — both captive and non-captive — have to cough up the penalty.