Tata Steel today said the stoppage of issuance of challans by the Jharkhand government has blocked the dispatch of iron ore from its Noamundi iron ore mine in the state to its steel plant in Jamshedpur.

“ ... the Department of Mines, Government of Jharkhand, has stopped issuance of challans (forwarding notes) for dispatch of iron ore from our Noamundi iron ore mine in Jharkhand to our steel plant in Jamshedpur,” Tata Steel said in a BSE filing.

“This has resulted in the stoppage of dispatches of iron ore from Noamundi to Jamshedpur steel plant. The company has decided to seek legal recourse to resolve this impasse.”

Tata Steel said this development “will financially impact the company till the matter is resolved”, but it’s taking measures to ensure its Jamshedpur operations are not affected.

Elaborating, the company said: “The company’s captive iron ore mining leases in Odisha have been extended till 2030 in accordance with the provisions of MMDR Amendment Act, 2015.

However, the Jharkhand government has not allowed the execution of supplementary lease deed for extension of the Noamundi iron ore mine in spite of several representations to the state.”

The Noamundi mine had been closed since September on renewal of lease issues, which forced Tata Steel to resort to imports of iron ore.

In January this year, Tata Steel had resumed production at Noamundi iron ore mine after a gap of nearly four months.

The Jharkhand mine with a 10 million tonnes per annum capacity is crucial to Tata Steel’s raw material supply for its 9.8-mtpa Jamshedpur facility.

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