**Supreme Court Allows JSPL To Sell Iron Ore Inventory From Sarda Mines In Odisha**
The Supreme Court allowed Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. to sell Rs 2,000-crore worth of iron ore inventory from its Sarda mines in Odisha if the steelmaker pays Rs **933 crore** in dues to the state government by Feb. 28.
That comes after the Odisha government on Jan. 15 said it will allow JSPL to sell iron ore from its Sarda mines if the company gave an affidavit of undertaking worth Rs 900 crore for royalty dues owed to the state.
The top court had in 2017 directed that a 100 percent penalty would be levied on steelmakers that have illegally extracted iron and manganese ore in Odisha since 2000-01. VR Sharma, managing director at the steelmaker, had told BloombergQuint that the company has a “legitimate right” over the material at the mine as it has paid the duties and royalties levied on it.
Sarda Mines Pvt. Ltd. was among the eight lessees accused of transferring leases without the government’s prior approval in violation of Rule 37 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960, according to a copy of the order reviewed by BloombergQuint. The Supreme Court committee, however, found no such violation.
According to Motilal Oswal, the iron ore inventory would help meet most of the steelmaker’s iron ore requirement for financial year 2020-21 and insulate JSPL from any expected Odisha merchant mining disruption. The brokerage estimates benefits to the tune of Rs 20 per share.
View: Positive view for Jindal steel. This was ongoing tussle between now its cleared by SC.