Dima Hasao council to get Rs 1,014 crore a year from limestone: Himanta

The Dima Hasao Autonomous Council (DHAC) stands to receive about Rs 1,014 crore every year from limestone mining in the hill district, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

In a post on X, reported by India Today NE and Pratidin Time, Sarma said 13 limestone blocks in Dima Hasao have been auctioned to leading cement companies through a transparent process. He put the expected earnings from these blocks at around Rs 84,500 crore over 50 years, or roughly Rs 1,690 crore a year.

Where the Rs 1,014 crore figure comes from

The council's figure follows from the state's decision to pass on 60% of the limestone revenue to the DHAC. Sixty per cent of about Rs 1,690 crore a year works out to roughly Rs 1,014 crore.

Sarma had announced the 60% share on October 30 at Umrangso, during the groundbreaking for JK Lakshmi Cement's proposed Rs 11,000 crore cement project. The council itself had asked for 50%, and the state went further, he said then, predicting that cement-sector revenue would make the DHAC one of the country's wealthiest autonomous councils within five years.

The figures are the Chief Minister's projections. They depend on the blocks actually being mined and on production levels over the coming decades, and the government has not released a block-by-block breakdown.

"Financial autonomy" pitch

Sarma presented the arrangement as an example of financial autonomy, saying it would let the Sixth Schedule council meet its needs without turning to the state or the Centre for every requirement.

Referring to the district's long history of insurgency, he argued that industry can benefit indigenous areas when local institutions get a direct share of the revenue, and criticised those who oppose business activity in such areas.

The cement push in Dima Hasao

JK Lakshmi Cement's "Project Kamakhya" is planned in phases, with limestone mines at Umrangso, an integrated cement plant at 19 Kilo in New Umrangso and a grinding unit at Lanka in Hojai district. The state government has said Ambuja, Dalmia, Star Cement and Jindal are also expected to set up cement units in the district.

Large-scale limestone mining in the Umrangso area has raised questions among some residents over land, compensation and the environment, and how the council uses its new revenue is likely to be watched closely.