Orissa blames Mines Bureau for low price of bauxite

BHUBANESWAR: Unhappy with the royalty it gets on sale of bauxite, the Orissa government has said faulty parameters adopted by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) while fixing the price of the mineral had caused this anomaly.

"The state government has been incurring a heavy loss due to low valuation of bauxite mineral by the IBM", said Steel and Mines Secretary U P Singh here at a meeting on revenue collection from Mines Sector in Orissa.

He pointed out that while a ton of bauxite was being sold at a price of Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 in the international market, the IBM had fixed the price at only Rs 2,300 per tonne.

As a result, the state was losing a good amount of revenue, he said, adding that Orissa got only 7.5 per cent over sale of bauxite as royalty.

According to Steel and Mines Minister Padmanabha Behera, the Orissa government would soon lodge its protest with the IBM demanding fixation of the price of bauxite according to international price.

He said the IBM had fixed the price of bauxite mineral in February last and expected to revise it in October next. "We would put forth Orissa's point of view before the IBM revises its new price next month", the minister said.

The minister pointed out that fixation of mineral price at a low price affected both the Centre and the state government while benefiting private mines owners.