Centre says there's adequate availability of coal in country

Referring to the auction of coal blocks, Minister for Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi said that his ministry has been conducting commercial auctions of coal blocks since the launch of the commercial auction scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2020.

New Delhi: Reiterating that there is adequate availability of coal in the country, Minister for Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi on Monday said that India has witnessed the highest-ever coal production in 2022-23. “The all-India coal production in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 was 716.08 Million Tonnes (MT), 778.21 MT and 893.19 MT respectively. Most of the requirement for coal in the country is met through indigenous production and supply. The focus of the government is on increasing the domestic production of coal,” said Joshi in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

He said that several steps have taken by the government to make the country self-sufficient in the production of coal are as under: “There is a regular review by the Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks,” he said. Joshi informed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 has been enacted for enabling captive mines owners (other than atomic minerals) to sell up to 50 per cent of their annual mineral, including coal production, in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central government on payment of such additional amount.

“There is a Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. There is a Project Monitoring Unit for hand-holding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals and clearances for early operationalisation of coal mines,” he said. Adequate storage facilities for extracted coal are available in the mines and new coal storage space is created as and when required, Joshi informed.

Referring to the auction of coal blocks, Joshi said that his ministry has been conducting commercial auctions of coal blocks since the launch of the commercial auction scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2020. “Till date 86 coal mines have been successfully auctioned under commercial coal mine auctions,” he said.