Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today said that some sort of cess or levy should be given by miners for local people affected by projects.
His comments came a day after a ministerial panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, reached a consensus to give the go-ahead to the draft mining bill, which seeks that miners share 26 per cent of profits with local people affected by projects.
Asked whether he agreed with the recommendation of the ministerial panel, Singh said, "it may be 26 per cent or 20 per cent. But some sort of levy should be given (by the miners)."
Singh said it was only a proposal now. It would go to the Group of Ministers again and then Union cabinet for approval. Subsequently, it would be placed in Parliament.
He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on raw materials security for the steel industry.
Meanwhile, SAIL Chairman C S Verma said, "captive mines should be kept out of its purview. We cannot sell what we mine. It is for our captive use."
Singh, however said, "my thinking is in line with that of the government."
Expressing reservations about iron ore export, the Steel Minister said that to discourage it, duty should be charged at the rate of 20 per cent on both iron ore fines and lumps.
The government has increased export duty on iron ore lumps to 15 per cent and charged 5 per cent duty on fines to improve domestic availability.
On the commerce ministry supporting iron ore exports, Singh said every ministry should have a national objective.
As for steel production, Singh said that the target of producing 120 million tonne steel in the country by 2012 was not unachievable.
Earlier, speaking at the seminar, he said that although India produced over 220 million tonne of iron ore annually, more than half of it was exported.
"This supports the growing steel production in China at the cost of stagnation in our own country." he said.