SK Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India, has said that, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is in the process of restructuring to step up coal production in the country. It plans to improve production by enhancing its Mining Development Operator mode and consultations are in full swing with the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance in this regard, coalguru reports the Strategic Research Institute as saying. Also, close monitoring of the coal distribution system through the nation’s railways has been undertaken.CIL is coordinating with the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as state governments to resolve the issues of environment and forest clearances. For improved technology infrastructure and to enhance the overall efficiency of CIL, consultants have already been hired. Srivastava said that 14 coal blocks have been awarded to Central and State Utilities, totalling 159 Mt and potentially fuelling 30,000 to 35,000 MW of power generation.
He said that the critical role of coal transport infrastructure in ensuring supplies to end users. As railways, road and other means of transport are under tremendous pressure, the use of inland waterways is increasingly being seen as a cost effective and efficient mode of transport of coal to industrial users.
He added that coal mining can be categorised under four broad categories namely, environment & forest clearances, land acquisition, evacuation and coal mining. Of these, environment & forest clearances and land acquisition pose the biggest challenges as coal reserves are confined to seven to eight states, which are densely populated.
Ashok Lavasa, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, said that the power sector has been constantly supported by the coal sector, but in the last decade the import of coal has increased phenomenally. Exploitation of coal for use in power sector is a necessity. However, he said that besides the indigenous coal, the energy producers should also have access to imported fuel as a viable option. Both Case I and Case II bids “now allow for fuel pass through, hence there is no possibility of speculation in the area of fuel.”
