Levy royalty on iron ore, TD tells Govt

HYDERABAD: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has demanded that the State Government, like its Karnataka counterpart, levy royalty on iron ore. It has also urged it to check the irregularities being committed by the Obulapuram Mining Corporation of Gali Janardhan Reddy.
Speaking to reporters here today, TDP leader N Janardhan Reddy said the Karnataka Government had fixed Rs 1,000 as royalty for every tonne of iron ore extracted and that the AP Government too could get much-needed income through a similar measure at a time when it did not even have money to pay salaries and pensions.
Should Chief Minister K Rosaiah take the step, the State would get crores of rupees as the daily earnings of Gali Janardhan Reddy were between Rs 10 crore and 15 crore, the TDP leader explained.
He said Gali Janardhan Reddy was extracting large quantities of ore from Obulapuram mines, while maintaining that some of it was being drawn from Pendlimarri, Dhone and Veldurthi mines.
The late YS Rajasekhara Reddy had encouraged Gali Janardhan Reddy, he alleged, and urged the present chief minister not to continue likewise.
He demanded that the State Government should fix the boundaries of Obulapuram mines as there were allegations of illegal mining.
He recalled that the TDP had already highlighted corruption in the mines and that the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee had published a book on the illegal activities of Gali Janardhan Reddy.