Mangaluru: Legalise collection of royalty for M-sand, stone aggregate at the end of construction work, say stone crusher and quarry owners

Instead of the present system of collecting royalty from operators of stone crushers and quarry owners and also from contractors who are using the material for construction work, the State government can legalise the practice of collecting royalty from the construction agencies at the end of construction work, said president of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts Stone Crusher and Quarry Owners’ Association Manoj Shetty in Mangaluru on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Shetty said the State government is the largest consumer of stone aggregate, M-sand, laterite stone, and other ordinary building stones for its construction work, while around 20% goes for private constructions. Payments for the construction agencies of government projects are being made after deducting royalty at the rate of ₹70 per tonne for the ordinary building stones that is used.

The Controller and Auditor General of India, in their reports, has objected to this deduction of royalty at the end point by pointing out that the government is only collecting royalty for 80% of the extracted building stones, while private agencies are going scot-free from paying royalty for the 20% of extracted building stones.

As a result, the State government is collecting additional royalty with penalty from stone crusher and quarry owners by approximately working out the quantity of ordinary building stones extracted by looking at power consumption. “This is placing additional burden on stone crusher and quarry unit owners who are operating in a legal way. This is pushing law abiding operators to penury,” Mr. Shetty added.

The State government should legalise the system of collecting royalty from the construction agency at the end of construction work, which helps the government get good amount in the form of royalty. The State requires approximately about 600 million tonnes of ordinary building stones for construction work every year. With end point collection of royalty, the government can generate revenue of over ₹6,000 crore in the form of royalty, Mr. Shetty said.

Additionally, the State government can collect ₹5 lakh per acre per year as dead rent from the stone crushers and quarry owners by stopping collection of royalty from them. “We want the State government to take us into confidence in mobilising revenue for the State,” Mr. Shetty said.

Published - December 17, 2024 07:02 pm IST