Bhubaneswar | Jan 21, 2016: A sharp fall in the price of iron ore in the global market and delay in mining operations in the state may not allow the government to meet the revenue collection target from the mining sector in 2015-16. The mining sector contributes the lion's share to the overall revenue collection in the state, official sources said. According to finance department sources, at the end of December, revenue collection from the mining sector was pegged at 3,869 crore against 3,084 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. The growth was 25%. Officers in the steel and mines department said the current trend may deter the government from achieving the target of 6,626 crore in the next three months (January to March).

According to advance estimates, revenue collection from mining sector would touch around 6,000 crore by the end of fiscal year, said an officer in the steel and mines department requesting anonymity.

So far, the state government has extended lease period of 57 mines according to the new Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 2015, implemented by the NDA government. The new mining law has provisions for extension of the lease period of captive mines till March 31, 2030, and non-captive mines till March 31, 2020. According to industry sources, iron ore price, which was 2,400 per tonne last year, has nosedived to 1,400.

Even though the lease period of a number of mines was extended, all of them could not start production due to lack of statutory clearances.

The state government had also failed to achieve the target in previous two financial years due to closure of a number of mines. While it had generated 5,186 crore against the target of 6,346 crore in 2014-15, the amount was 5,510 crore against the target of 6,600 crore in 2013-14.

Steel and mines minister Prafulla Mallik on Wednesday said the state government has put auction of Khatkurbahal block in Sundargarh district on hold due to anomaly in the findings of differential global positioning system survey.

On January 5, a notification was issued for the auction of the Khatkurbahal limestone block and the Garramura limestone block in Nuapada district.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)