Calls for invoking ‘pre-emption rights’ from industries in Indian iron ore-bearing states have gained momentum with steel industries in Chhattisgarh seeking such a rule to prevent the movement of iron ore out of the state, a government official said on Friday, June 18.
The official said that steel industries like Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) and representative bodies like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FIICI) have sought the activation of pre-emption rights under the provisions of the Mineral Concession Rules 2016, to prevent movement of iron ore out of Chhattisgarh and mitigate shortages faced by iron-ore based industries in the state.
Earlier, the sponge iron industry in Odisha, another key iron ore-bearing state, had sought invocation of a pre-emption clause to prohibit movement of iron ore out of the state as sponge iron plants in the region have been facing acute shortages of the raw material.
Navin Jindal, chairman of JSPL, said that invoking pre-emption rights and stopping iron ore moving out of Chhattisgarh would help avert “the ongoing mineral crisis in the state”.
Industry representative bodies have pointed out that iron ore prices in Odisha have moved up by 500 percent over the past one year and by about 400 percent in Chhattisgarh and giving effect to pre-emption rights would make sufficient raw material available to steel industries in these two states.