Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], September 26 (ANI): BJP leader Peeyush Mohanty defended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act amid ongoing opposition protests in Odisha, alleging that the previous BJD government under Naveen Patnaik had failed to act despite being aware of a massive mining scam in the state.
Responding to a question on the opposition's disruption of proceedings and the ongoing protests over the MMDR Act, Mohanty said, "You first need to understand where the MMDR Act applies and where it starts. You might remember that in 2013, during the UPA government, a committee was formed by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission, which in 2014, the report was presented in Parliament, which reported the biggest mining loot in India in Odisha under the Naveen Patnaik BJD government."
He said the amendment to the Act was first introduced by the Prime Minister following the disclosure of the scam.
"When this loot of 59,000 crore came to light, and in 2014 and the BJP government came in, and when the Honourable Prime Minister took charge, then in 2015, they tabled the MMDR Act for the first time in Parliament. This is primarily because the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report on this loot says that it should go to the CBI for investigation," he said.
Mohanty questioned why the BJD government had not acted on the recommendations during its tenure.
"That 59,000 crore must have increased to 2 lakh crore, 5 lakh crore; who knows what interest has been added or what might have happened. From 2015 to 2024, Naveen Patnaik ji's government was in power. If some collection was to be done, you should have done it at that time. You did nothing in those nine or ten years. Now you say that this is to be collected; the BJP government has to collect it. So this is completely wrong," he said.
He said the MMDR Act amendment aimed to bring regulation to mining activities, to stop any kind of fraud and to prevent further exploitation.
"The MMDR Act has been brought for amendment to bring a regulation on Odisha's mining properties so that all this looting stops, and whatever companies are involved in this, whether they are Odisha's companies or national companies, a regulation should be put on that, and once a regulation comes, there will be a better use of mines and minerals because the end products can be made in Odisha," he said.
Asked about the scale of the alleged loot and what safeguards the new Act would provide, Mohanty said the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report itself indicated the scam could be far larger than initially estimated.
"The Justice M.B. Shah Commission report shows that the loot of 59,000 crores was seen in the investigation, but it has also mentioned that the loot is 10 times bigger. That is why they had recommended a CBI inquiry. So this matter is also before the Honourable Supreme Court," he said, adding that the amended Act was aimed at ensuring that private companies, officials or others involved could not repeat such practices in the future.
Responding to opposition claims that the Act could cause an annual loss of ₹12,000 to ₹20,000 crore to the state, Mohanty dismissed the allegations, again pointing to the previous government's inaction.
"No, nothing like that is happening. If there was such a loss, the government at the time, Naveen Patnaik ji's government, to tell us if there was such a loss, they should have collected it. They were in office until 2024," he said.
Asked whether Odisha stood to benefit from the Act, Mohanty said the regulation would help streamline business operations.
"The regulation has come in because whatever business happens now will be regulated, so you won't unnecessarily burden any company, and the MRP of the finished product can be fixed. It can be regulated in a much better way," he said.
Concluding his remarks, Mohanty said the issue should not be politicised, asserting that people across Odisha and the country understood the context behind the amendment.
"The people of Odisha understand. The mining loot story that happened in Odisha under the BJD-ruled government at the time so to bring it into correction, the MMDR Act has been implemented; this will benefit Odisha. The people of Odisha know this and the people of India know this too, so it shouldn't be politicised, and there is actually politics happening on this," he said. (ANI)
BJP defends MMDR act amid opposition protests, cites Justice M.B. Shah Commission's mining report
