To check and prevent any unauthorized use of the state’s precious natural resources, there is a rule, the Odisha Mineral (Prevention of Theft, Smuggling and ill-legal mining and Regulation of Possession, Storage and Transportation (OMPTS) Rules, 2007) and this regulation insists upon a storage license and a transport license. Paradip Port Trust authorities stress the point that OMPTS Rules need not be applied to the imported mineral since it is obtained from outside the country. For want of the requisite license, several tonnes of imported coal and other minerals are held up and getting delayed in dispatch. Another very significant aspect is that the coal import is registering a steady growth in the business of the port. The coal import accounts for nearly one fourth of its annual traffic handling. It remains a better source of revenue than iron ore; it charges Rs 43 per tonne for coal which is almost double the charge of the iron ore. A port official not willing to be identified said that sometimes they had “to refuse or delay coal import orders because of non-availability of space inside port area. The waiving off the storing license rule will pay way for faster evacuation of coal and more imports”. In fact, many power plants have fallen upon coal import after the supplier Mahanadi Coadfields Limited (MCL) has failed to supply the required quantity as well the quality. Business prospects, therefore, are bright for coal import. These are the arguments the Port Trust put forward for relaxation in the norms of the coal import. But, here the warning given by the Reserve Bank of India comes to one’s mind; it says that increased dependence on imported coal could impact growth and inflation.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Paradip port wants relaxation in the norms for coal import
To check and prevent any unauthorized use of the state’s precious natural resources, there is a rule, the Odisha Mineral (Prevention of Theft, Smuggling and ill-legal mining and Regulation of Possession, Storage and Transportation (OMPTS) Rules, 2007) and this regulation insists upon a storage license and a transport license. Paradip Port Trust authorities stress the point that OMPTS Rules need not be applied to the imported mineral since it is obtained from outside the country. For want of the requisite license, several tonnes of imported coal and other minerals are held up and getting delayed in dispatch. Another very significant aspect is that the coal import is registering a steady growth in the business of the port. The coal import accounts for nearly one fourth of its annual traffic handling. It remains a better source of revenue than iron ore; it charges Rs 43 per tonne for coal which is almost double the charge of the iron ore. A port official not willing to be identified said that sometimes they had “to refuse or delay coal import orders because of non-availability of space inside port area. The waiving off the storing license rule will pay way for faster evacuation of coal and more imports”. In fact, many power plants have fallen upon coal import after the supplier Mahanadi Coadfields Limited (MCL) has failed to supply the required quantity as well the quality. Business prospects, therefore, are bright for coal import. These are the arguments the Port Trust put forward for relaxation in the norms of the coal import. But, here the warning given by the Reserve Bank of India comes to one’s mind; it says that increased dependence on imported coal could impact growth and inflation.
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