New Delhi, June 20 (NSS): Union Minister for Coal & Mines G. Kishan Reddy today held a meeting with the officials of Coal Ministry to review the management of captive and commercial coal blocks. The Minister stressed upon close coordination with all the stakeholders including State Government and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for early resolution of the issues to ensure faster clearance so as to operationalize the allotted coal blocks in least possible time.
Highlighting the need for higher production of coal to reduce imports so as to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta in coal’, he directed that necessary institutional strengthening may be supported at State-level. All coal block allocatees should be facilitated on regular basis so that coal mines can be operationalized at the earliest. So far, Ministry of Coal has allocated/auctioned 161 coal mines with peak rated capacity of 575 MT. Out of which 58 mines have received mine opening permission and 54 mines are into operation. Last year these mines have produced total of 147 MT of coal, which constitutes 15% of the total coal production of the country.
The captive/commercial coal miners are primarily large sized consumers including NTPC, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), Vedanta, Hindalco, Adani and so on. Therefore, higher production by these companies would ease out pressure on the demand of coal from CIL which will have cascading effect on the Auction prices of coal. With higher production from captive/commercial coal blocks, the premium on auction will come down. Therefore, coal would be made available at cheaper rates to the different consumers in the country. This will help in checking the inflation as coal is the primary source of energy not only for power but all other sectors including steel, fertilizers, aluminum, cement, paper, sponge iron and so on, he said.
Aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve energy independence by 2047 and Aatmanirbharta in coal, the Minister advised all stakeholders to work hard and achieve at least 175 Mt coal production during this year from the captive/commercial coal blocks showing a growth of 19 %. He will launch the 10th round of commercial auction of coal mines on June 21, 2024, setting tone for faster pace for coal block auction and operationalization, he added. (NSS)
