Pioneer News Service
Ranchi
Political rhetoric has intensified in Jharkhand regarding the MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026. Responding to a letter from Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore, Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi has questioned the state government for holding the Central Government responsible for Jharkhand’s economic losses.
Babulal Marandi stated that the MMDR Amendment applies uniformly across the entire country. Under such circumstances, why is only the Jharkhand government facing issues with it? This question raises doubts about the government’s intentions. He added that while demanding the state’s rights from the Centre is not wrong, the state must also review its own policies regarding the losses incurred in mineral revenue.
Marandi pointed out that the state government has levied heavy cesses on minerals. Last year, nearly ₹7,500 crore was collected through the cess, but the budget estimate for mining royalty dropped from ₹22,000 crore to around ₹16,000 crore. He claimed that this led to a deficit of approximately ₹6,000 crore.
He further noted that imposing a cess of up to ₹450 per ton on coal and ₹600 per ton on iron ore has made minerals in Jharkhand expensive. This has directly impacted mines and the crusher industry. Marandi claimed that several mines and iron crushers in Singhbhum remain closed, severely affecting local laborers.
Citing the example of Odisha, Marandi stated that Odisha focused heavily on auctioning mineral blocks and increasing production. He questioned why closed iron ore mines and the coal blocks allocated by the Centre to Jharkhand have not been operationalized yet.
He also alleged that as legal minerals become expensive, it promotes illegal mining. According to him, this deprives the government of revenue while benefiting illegal operators.
Marandi further questioned the Finance Minister regarding the auction of sand ghats and stone quarries. He asked why they were not auctioned in recent years and why several of the auctioned mines are still not functional.
He raised serious questions about the state government’s budget expenditure as well. According to Marandi, in the first quarter of the current financial year, all departments combined failed to spend even 1% of the allocated budget. He also accused the government of causing losses in central grants due to the non-submission of Utilization Certificates (UCs), failure to conduct civic body elections, and the non-constitution of the State Finance Commission.
Babulal Marandi asked the Finance Minister whether he would show the political willpower to raise all these issues before the Chief Minister and the departments concerned. He concluded that along with holding the Centre accountable, the state government must also take responsibility for its own policies and decisions regarding Jharkhand’s economic situation.
