Odisha's Revenue Shortfall: A Minor Mineral Misstep

The Odisha government faced a revenue loss of Rs 864.45 crore in the minor mineral sector from 2015-16 to 2021-22 due to uncollected charges towards the District Mineral Fund and Environmental Management Fund. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India highlighted the lack of enforcement by authorities in collecting appropriate royalties.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has revealed a significant revenue shortfall for the Odisha government, amounting to Rs 864.45 crore from minor mineral sources between 2015-16 and 2021-22. In its latest report, the CAG attributes this loss to the government's failure to secure payments towards the District Mineral Fund (DMF) and Environmental Management Fund (EMF).

The report highlights that while authorities overseeing public projects deducted Rs 4,624.58 crore in royalties from contractor bills due to lack of valid transit passes, only Rs 21.25 crore out of Rs 399.91 crore was actually collected in 14 districts. In 16 other districts, no additional charges for DMF and EMF were collected at all.

The CAG criticized local tahsildars for this revenue lapse, pointing out their failure to demand additional charges from contractors. This oversight, involving non-production of valid documents for mineral procurement, led to the state's significant revenue shortfall.

(With inputs from agencies.)