BHUBANESWAR: The BJD’s plank of Central negligence of Odisha has got a shot in the arm with the rejection of the two demands __ special category status to the State and imposition of mineral resources rent tax (MRRT) by the Centre. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has reacted to the MRRT rejection attributing it to the mining lobby. ‘’This will be our trump card during the panchayat polls,’’ a senior BJD leader told this paper.Naveen had written two letters to the Prime Minister on MRRT issue and the State Cabinet had also resolved requesting the Centre to pilot a legislation to levy the tax on mine-owners making super profit. Rejection of the demand by the Centre has given the BJD an opportunity to counter the multi-crore mining scam raised by the Congress and the BJP. Special category status is an issue which is being raised for the last 30 years in one forum or the other. The demand, which had receded from the centre stage, has been revived with Naveen raising it at various fora recently. Its rejection has also given the BJD a campaign ammunition to be used against the Congress during the panchayat polls. ‘Corruption’ in the Naveen Government remains the major issue for the Congress. A series of scams have surfaced in Odisha raising serious doubts on the integrity of the Government and questionable conduct of powers-that-be __ from top politicians to bureaucrats __ said the memorandum submitted by the OPCC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the City on January 3. The memorandum also alleged that the State Government had connived at illegal mining in Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Jajpur districts in violation of mining, forest and environment laws over the last decade. Against the backdrop of high domestic and international demand and price, 545 million tonnes of iron ore have been raised in Odisha, much of it illegally, in the last 10 years as against 326 million tonnes from 1947 to 2000, it said.
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