PANAJI
The Goa government, through the Directorate of Transport has sent demand notices to as many as 19 companies involved in the import and transportation of coal through Goa who owe the Goa government a cumulative of Rs 208-odd crore for the period between 2014 to 2018.
The notices sent earlier this month reveal that 42 million metric tonnes of coal and coke were transported through Goa via road, rail and water with the bulk of the transportation being carried out by the JSW Group through its companies JSW Steel which imported 31.26 million metric tons during the said period and subsidiary JSW Energy which imported 2.5 million metric tonnes of coal and coke.
The two companies which cumulatively owe the Goa government Rs 169-crore in dues making up more than three-fourths of the total dues the state Government is claiming from companies involved in coal transport in Goa.
Among the companies that have transported coal through Goa only Goa Sponge Ltd, (Rs 1.625 crore), Amby Metallic (Rs 1.12 crore), Goa Carbon Ltd (Rs 55-lakh), Goa Sponge and Power (Rs 25-lakh), Indian Cane Power (Rs 25-lakh) and Bharat Nre Coke Ltd, (Rs 5-lakh) have paid their dues.
Other including Sesa Sterlite (Rs 11.69-crore), BMM Ispat (Rs 10.49 crore), Adani Enterprises Ltd (Rs 7.15 crore), Vedanta (Rs 3.19 crore) and West Coast Paper Mills (Rs 2.65 crore) are among the major defaulters to whom the Goa government has sent notices.
The Cess was initially imposed in the year 2006 “promote the welfare of the people residing in the rural areas affected by the movement of carriers transporting (hazardous) material on public roads” and was initially targeted at the movement of ore transport but was later expanded to include coal/coke and other hazardous material through the roads of Goa.
The pending dues of cess have been a long-standing issue with the major coal importers failing to pay their dues as sought by the Goa government for several years running. The demand notices come at a time when the Goa government is facing a cash crunch and has resorted to borrowing to meet its revenue shortfall in the absence of other sources of revenue.
