Srinagar Aug 16: Despite earning hundreds of crores, several cement factories operating in Kashmir have royalty pending worth crores of rupees to Jammu and Kashmir government.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has allowed various factories to use limestone at several places for the manufacture of cements for which the latter has to pay royalty.
However, according to official details available with Morning Kashmir, several cement factories operating in Kashmir have outstanding royalty worth crores of rupees to the Geology and Mining Department.
One of the cement factories has a pending royalty of Rs 29004094. Other cement factory has an outstanding of Rs 12134909. Similarly, two other cement factories have royalty pending Rs 5420587 and Rs 142021890.
Royalty refers to a contractual payment by a person for the use of assets belonging to another person. Royalty agreements generally give limited right to use assets or resources like cement factories using limestone for the cement.
A senior official of the Geology and Mining Department said there are few cement factories that don’t adhere to the notice of the government. “They are earning hundreds of crores annually but don’t pay royalty to the government. In future strict action will be taken against those who fail to pay royalty on time,” the official said. The Geology and Mining Department is authorized to receive royalty on extraction of major as well as minor minerals in the Union Territory at the rates fixed by the Govt.
The official said there are also complaints against some cement factories for creating pollution.
Several cement factories are operating in Khrew area of Pulwama district close to Dachigam National Park.
The J&K High Court has several times issued notices to the government on Public Interest Litigations seeking to prevent environmental pollution caused by cement plants in Khrew. The court has also asked the government to cancel the registration and No Objection Certificates (NOCs) of those cement plants which are violating the safety measures required for controlling air pollution. While J&K owned J&K Cements Limited which was windup last year had suffered heavy losses over the years.
