Archive · 12 Aug 2026
PMK warns mining amendment causes Rs 11,000 crore TN loss
The government in New Delhi wants to change a law about minerals that are dug out of the ground.
Under the new rule, states would not be allowed to add their own taxes on minerals taken from their land.
A leader named Anbumani Ramadoss, from a party called PMK, says this is unfair.
Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India, collects money from mineral taxes and royalties.
Last year it earned Rs 4,100 crore from them and hoped to earn Rs 11,000 crore this year.
Mr. Ramadoss warns that all that money could be lost if the amendment passes.
The amendment would also forgive old tax dues that mining companies owe to the states.
He says states need this money to fund public welfare schemes.
He is asking the central government to completely withdraw the new rule.
PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss urged the Centre to withdraw the proposed amendment to the Mines and Minerals, Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act.
The bill introduces Section 9D, which would prohibit state governments from independently imposing taxes, cesses, or surcharges on mineral resources.
Ramadoss claimed the amendment will cause Tamil Nadu an annual revenue loss of Rs 11,000 crore.
Tamil Nadu earned Rs 4,100 crore from mineral taxes and royalties in 2025-26 and targeted Rs 11,000 crore for 2026-27, all now at risk.
The amendment would also waive pending tax dues owed by mining contractors under previous state levies, and PMK is demanding a total rollback of the bill.
- Who
- PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss, addressing the Centre over the taxation rights of state governments including Tamil Nadu.
- What
- PMK urged the Centre to withdraw the MMDR amendment, which introduces Section 9D barring states from imposing taxes, cesses, or surcharges on minerals and waiving pending mineral tax dues.
- When
- Wednesday, August 12; the bill was recently tabled in the Lok Sabha.
- Where
- The demand was made from Chennai and concerns Tamil Nadu; the bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
- Why
- Because the amendment strips states of mineral taxation rights and risks Rs 11,000 crore in annual revenue for Tamil Nadu.
- Chief critic
- Anbumani Ramadoss, PMK President
- Contested provision
- Section 9D of the MMDR amendment bill
- Party demand
- Total rollback of the bill
- Claimed annual loss to Tamil Nadu
- Rs 11,000 crore
- TN mineral revenue 2025-26
- Rs 4,100 crore
- TN revenue target 2026-27
- Rs 11,000 crore
- PMK's estimated potential yield
- Up to Rs 1.50 lakh crore annually
- Taxation context
- States rely on VAT, motor vehicle tax, stamp duty, and mineral cesses since GST implementation in 2017