Miners to Railways: Help us check inflation

Criticising the railways for hiking freight rates by almost 300% in the last three years, the mining industry today demanded a long-term freight policy to make it more cost-competitive and enable miners contribute in containing the inflationary trends in the economy.

"The iron ore industry is trying to reduce cost to bring down the effect of high inflation, and also expect a positive response from the Railway Board...by reducing freight," the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the apex body of Indian miners, said in a letter to the Railway Board.

"Industry earnestly requests you to roll back the recent hikes in rail freight for domestic as well as exports to help us reduce cost. Any kind of increase in logistics is unjustified as it will result in increase in the cost of steel, which will further lead to inflationary pressure," FIMI added.

"Railways have increased freight substantially on iron ore, which is almost 300% in the last three years," FIMI said in its letter, and pointed out that the "scourge of imposing surcharge and other such levies was introduced in 2006-07 in the name of dynamic freight policy."

The miners' body cited that railway freight in Australia, Brazil and China is as low as 0.43 paise per tonne per kilometre, while in India it is as high as Rs 2.40 per tonne.