Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the Centre of undermining the federal structure through the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, and urged the UDF govt to challenge the legislation in Supreme Court.Vijayan said the amendment, which restricts the constitutional right of state govts to impose additional taxes or cess on mining rights and land containing mineral resources, was an encroachment on the rights of states. Under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, land and its resources fall under Entry 18 of the State List, he said.Imposing central control over the subject amounted to a violation of the Constitution, Vijayan said, adding that the UDF govt should approach SC as the amendment provisions were against the basic principles of the Constitution. He also questioned whether the state govt was prepared to take a stand against the Centre to protect federalism and the rights of states.Vijayan alleged that the amendment was also part of a move to hand over the country’s mineral wealth to private monopolies. He said the legislation sought to open up mining of strategic rare minerals to the private sector, creating opportunities for corporates to make huge profits while weakening the public sector.He accused the UDF govt of adopting a similar approach towards privatisation in Kerala. The white paper issued by the state govt and the revised budget had proposed complete privatisation of mineral-sand mining, he said. The proposed ‘Rare Earth Corridor’, he alleged, was aimed at handing over the mineral wealth along Kerala’s coast to private monopolies.Vijayan said the alleged privatisation agenda should also be seen in the context of moves to undermine Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), the state-owned public sector company at Chavara. Malayalam media had reported about moves to stop mineral-sand mining by the public sector at Chavara, which, he said, would put the operations of the profitable KMML in crisis.
