Published Aug 13, 2026 | 4:38 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 13, 2026 | 4:38 PM
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh termed the legislation a “black law”.
Synopsis: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, a day after it was pushed through the Lok Sabha with little debate. The bill seeks to curb states’ powers to levy taxes and cesses on mining rights and mineral-bearing land. The Centre says the Bill will address uncertainty caused by different state levies, while Opposition parties say it undermines fiscal federalism and the 2024 Supreme Court ruling upholding states’ power to tax mineral-bearing land, particularly affecting mineral-rich states such as Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday, 13 August, passed the controversial Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, paving the way for it to become a law after the President gives assent.
The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 12 August in under five minutes without any debate and amid fierce protests by the Opposition parties.
The Bill seeks to restrict the constitutional power of state governments to levy taxes or cesses on mining rights or mineral-rich land within their territories.
Introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha on 10 August, Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy said the legislation sought to address the uncertainty in the mining sector created by divergent fiscal levies imposed by States.
However, the Opposition sees the Bill as an attack on fiscal federalism and an usurpation of State powers. The parties have pointed out that the move could adversely impact mineral-rich states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which depend on mining taxes for most of their revenue.
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The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) to grant more powers to the central government with regard to regulating and taxing mining rights and mineral-rich lands.
The MMDR Act, the existing principal law governing the development and regulation of mines and minerals in the country, allows the central government to frame rules for the conservation and systematic development of major minerals. Under the Act, rules related to the regulation of minor minerals are framed by the State. The state governments are also empowered to grant concessions for minerals—such as prospecting licenses and mining leases—in their territory, under the rules framed by the Centre. States also collect royalties for the minerals extracted and levy taxes on the land used for mining. The new Bill seeks to restrict this power of the state governments.
According to the Bill, the regulation of mineral-bearing land in any state will come under the power of the central government. The Bill also restricts the state governments from imposing levies on mining and mineral-bearing land while also preventing the State from recovering unpaid dues from mining companies. The Bill, however, states that any such amount already deposited or recovered by the state will not be liable to be refunded.
The Bill defies constitutional provisions and a 2024 Supreme Court order in connection with State powers related to mining.
In 2024, a nine-judge bench of the apex court, headed by the then Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, upheld that the state government has the power to tax mineral-bearing land and that it is covered under Entry 49 of the State List in the Constitution. It, however, held that the Parliament may, through a law relating to mineral development, impose limitations on States’ power to tax mineral rights under Entry 50. This power does not extend to States’ power to tax land. The court also upheld the State’s power to tax mining rights and directed that it could be levied retrospectively, beginning from 1 April 2005.
By preventing the States from recovering unpaid tax dues, the Bill invalidates the court’s direction. The Bill also gives companies that failed to pay the taxes an unfair advantage over those that complied with the law and cleared their dues, thereby violating Article 14 of the Constitution.
The Bill also overrides powers granted to the State under Article 246 (Entries 18, 49 and 50) of the Constitution.
Opposition parties have noted that the Bill violates the 2024 SC order and goes against the basic principle of federalism, with the Centre encroaching upon states’ rights.
Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan stated that the legislation encroaches upon Entry 18 of List II (State List) under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution gives state legislatures exclusive powers to make laws relating to land, rights in or over land, land tenures, and the transfer and alienation of agricultural land.
The Chief Minister reiterated that Kerala would strongly oppose the Centre’s move and formally convey the state’s objections to the Union Government and indicated that the state could explore legal options if the Bill is enacted.
“Let the Bill become an Act. We will plan the next step accordingly,” he said.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh demanded that the bill alongside the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, also passed with little debate on Wednesday as paving the way for “dangerous centralisation”.
“In these, the constitutional rights of all states are being stripped away, and the role of the central government is being further promoted. Our demand was that these bills be sent to the Standing Committee, but it was ignored,” he said addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh termed the legislation a “black law”, alleging it is designed to take control of the economic and mineral resources of states.
“You want to take control of the states’ electricity. You want to take control of the states’ water. You want to take control of the states’ minerals. You want to take control of the states’ mines. Do you want to take control of the mineral resources of the entire country? This is the question I want to ask you,” Singh said.
Singh further alleged that the Bill had been brought to serve industrialist Gautam Adani’s interests and accused the government of acting as a “broker for Adani”.
“This Bill has been brought directly to give coal blocks, mines, and minerals to a handful of capitalists in this country. And states like Odisha, states like Telangana, states like Bengal, states like Tamil Nadu, and all the states where mining takes place—you want to directly take control of those mines,” he said.
“This Bill has been brought to serve [Gautam] Adani’s interests. You have brought this Bill to act as a broker for Adani. I just want to say this: you have no right.”
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
