Bhubaneswar: The Centre today clarified that there would be no revision of the coal royalty for now on the grounds of a report submitted by a study group.

The study group after considering all factors had submitted its report suggesting no change in coal royalty, said Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy while replying to a query of BJD MP Sasmit Patra in the Rajya Sabha today.

According to the minister, the coal royalty was last revised in 2012. A study group was constituted in 2014 to examine the issue of revision of coal royalty.

The study group had consulted all stakeholders. The coal producing states had suggested for increasing the coal royalty from the existing 14 per cent to 20 per cent while the coal consuming stakeholders pleaded to reduce the rate to 5-6 per cent, revealed the minister.

As per the study group report, the effective rate of coal royalty stands at around 19 per cent, if one takes into account the levy of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET), he added.

“The suggestion of the study group was accepted the government. The issue of enhancing coal royalty was raised by Odisha government in the Eastern Zonal Council meeting in 2020. But, it was decided to drop the issue,” stated the minister.

Earlier, the BJD MP sought to know the reason behind the delay in revising the coal royalty for Odisha.