The Karnataka government on Thursday approved a policy that resumes iron ore export-import (EXIM) and trade operations from the state's 13 non-major ports after a 15-year pause.
The passage of the Karnataka Non-major Ports Iron Ore Handling Policy 2025 is set to provide a major boost to the state's trade revenue, in line with an earlier Supreme Court ruling that had allowed the state to lift the ban, under certain conditions.
Why was there a ban?
In 2010, the illegal exports of large quantities of iron ore—which was also linked to the extraction of iron ore at an illegal scale—had led to the state government banning iron ore exports from ten non-major ports in the country, under the Karnataka Ports (Landing and Shipping Fees) Act, 1961.
The ban—imposed on the Karwar, Tadadi, Bhatkal, Malpe, Old Mangalore, Belekeri, Honnavar, Kundapura, Hangarkatta and Padubidri ports—by the B.S. Yediyurappa-led government was also upheld in 2012 by the Karnataka High Court. At the time, it had been responding to petitions from about 40 mining companies challenging the stay on the ban.
However, in 2022, the Supreme Court allowed the export of iron ore from the non-major ports under the Karnataka Maritime Board (KMB) as was being done by the rest of the country—in line with the EXIM policies of the Indian government.
“The policy is a standard operating procedure for the export of iron ore from these ports. The policy will come into effect prospectively," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said in a post-Cabinet briefing, as per a Hindu article.
He added that the policy, however, could not "be implemented with retrospective effect", as a number of cases are pending in courts and the Lokayukta report.
Going forward
The policy is expected to generate not only trade revenue, but also income from registration fees, land licensing fees, wharfage fees, as well as pollution control, safety and supervision fees, in addition to a number of deposits and penalties.