The iron ore mining business is not profitable anymore for the truck owners with annual cap of 20 million tons on extraction of ore. It is estimated that truck owners currently face a loss of about 60 per cent in their earnings as compared to their earning before the mining ban in September 2012, which has forced truckers to agitate for higher transportation charges. 

The truck economy was one way for the mining industry to share the spoils of this highly ‘ecology-insensitive’ industry for the local people and they did this until the ban came into force. Mainline companies such as Sesa Goa, Fomento, Chowgules and Lithoferro offered trucking contracts to locals affected by the mining.  

During the boom, between 2010 and 2012, as many as 27,000 trucks ferryied ore from mining sites to jetties. There were 90 mining leases in operation at that time, extracting over 50-53 million tons of ore, much beyond the environmental clearance (EC) limit. 

Truck owner Nilkant Gawas explains the nitty-gritty of the business. A truck costs around Rs 12-14 lakh, and EMI on the loans cost around Rs 30,000 or so every month. The owner of the truck easily earned around Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 a day for about 160-170 days. One truck would have ten trips for a shorter distance, while four trips for longer distance beyond 20 kms. After paying EMIs, the driver’s salary and the fuel costs, the truck owner made Rs 16 lakh to Rs 18 lakh a year, which worked to around Rs 1.5 lakh a month per truck. 

“Some even earned Rs 2 lakhs per truck. A family with three trucks used to earn nothing less than Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh per month,” he recalls. 

In addition to the trucks, locals often also invested in mining equipment, which they would lease out to the mining firms. 

But now, the business has been reduced drastically and the earning per truck, per month is as low as Rs 35,000-40,000 , after deduction of fuel cost and salaries of drivers etc, with per truck trips restricted to only two or three. There are 18,000 trucks registered with the department for plying ore, but only 8,000 are engaged in the business. 

“On an average the business for trucks last only for a month or 45 days and nothing beyond that. With cap on extraction, the production has reduced drastically. The business is not anymore profitable to us,” Govind Gawas, truck owner said. 

The trucks are demanding that transportation charges be hiked to Rs 14 per ton per kms as against the existing price of Rs 10.50 per ton per kms. However, the government has proposed Rs 2 hike by fixing the rate at Rs 12.50 for the first ten kilometers, Rs 12 per ton for 11-20 kms and Rs 11.50 above 20 kms.