NMDC denies Chhattisgarh govt disallowed ops due to absence of iron ore storage licence

New Delhi: State-run NMDC Limited has denied media reports which claimed that the state government of Chhattisgarh had restricted its operations at its Bailadila mines in Dantewada district due to not obtaining storage licenses. In an official statement on Thursday, NMDC said, "In certain sections of media, it has been reported that the Chhattisgarh government disallowed NMDC to carry out Iron Ore storage, loading at its Bailadila Mines in Dantewada district. Though there is no written communication from the state government, however, it has been reported that NMDC has not obtained storage licenses for its loading plants."

To clarify this, NMDC presented some facts which are:

• Loading plants of NMDC are located on the land acquired by NMDC within its mining complexes
• In the year 2013, the Chhattisgarh state government had issued a demand notice levying storage fee on the loading plants of Iron Ore mines of NMDC as per provisions of Chhattisgarh Mineral (Mining, Transportation, and Storage) Rules, 2009
• Based on the demand notice issued by the state government, NMDC paid the demand amount and afterwards, filed a writ petition in the High Court in Bilaspur, challenging the demand notice.
• After hearing both the parties, the High Court held that the demand notice issued by the Chhattisgarh state government levying storage fee was without jurisdiction and directed the state government to refund back the storage license fee collected from NMDC
• In compliance with the above order, the state government had adjusted the amount deposited by the NMDC against the royalty amount payable.
• Subsequently, the state government has filed a review petition on the order passed by the High Court, and presently, the matter is sub-judice.

NMDC further said that it will place all the relevant facts and legal position before the state government to resolve the issue amicably. "The company has a long association of more than 60 years with the people of Chhattisgarh and is committed to serving the state and its people in the years to come. And the company is carrying out mining operations lawfully and stands committed to follow all the applicable statutory provisions religiously," an official statement said.

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