Even as the State has been reeling under a severe financial crisis, the Department of Mining and Geology has netted a record revenue in the first half of the current fiscal, riding high on improved tax collection coupled with growth in average consumption. The department has collected a total of ₹273.97 crore till October 31 in the current fiscal, registering a growth of around 70% compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
According to Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, the increase was a result of the reforms implemented by the State government in the sector, including the introduction of e-office and Compass software. During the same period last year, the government netted ₹ 165.96 crore, a revenue increase of 17% compared to the previous year, which was the highest annual revenue growth recorded till 2021-22. But it has jumped to 56% in 2022-23 and 70% in the current year.
In 2016, the number of quarries operational in the State was 3,505, while the total revenue from these quarries was ₹138.72 crore during the same year. The number of quarries operating in the State had now dropped to just 651, but the revenue collection went up to ₹273.97 crore, said the minister. The revenue mainly comprised royalties and various fees imposed on mining activities in the State.
There was an increase in tax revenue in all the districts. Among the districts, the highest revenue of ₹45-46 crore was generated from Palakkad, against the ₹13.54 crore netted during the same period in the previous year. Malappuram comes in the second position with ₹37.28 crore compared to ₹25.08 crore in the previous year.
The revenue received by the government from other districts is as follows, with the amount received in the previous year in bracket: Ernakulam ₹33.17 crore (₹13.96 crore), Thiruvananthapuram ₹27.22 crore (₹24.78 crore), Kottayam ₹22.29 crore (₹20.79 crore), Kollam ₹20.62 crore (₹16.14 crore), Kannur ₹20.10 crore (₹7.89 crore), Pathanamthitta ₹19.87 crore (₹10.35 crore), Thrissur ₹13.07 crore (₹10.95 crore), Kozhikode ₹11.91 crore (₹4.84 crore), Idukki ₹9.47 crore (₹5.04 crore), Kasaragod ₹6.51 crore (₹4.08 crore), Alappuzha ₹3.27 crore (₹2.05 crore), Wayanad ₹2.86 crore (₹1.6 crore).
