MMDR-26 Amendment Bill will not withstand Supreme Court scrutiny: Narasingha Mishra

Bhubaneswar, Sep 28 (UNI) Former Odisha Law Minister and senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra on Monday asserted that the MMDR-26 Amendment Bill would be struck down by the Supreme Court, citing earlier judicial rulings on the state's power to levy taxes on mineral-bearing land. Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhawan here, Mishra said the Odisha Cess Act was enacted during the tenure of former Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik but was subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court on the ground that the state government lacked the authority to enact such legislation. Mishra recalled that during the tenure of…