No shortage of coal, production rose 16% so far in FY23, govt tells Lok Sabha
1 min read . Updated: 08 Feb 2023, 04:57 PM IST
PremiumMinister Joshi said the supply of coal to the power plants is a continuous process and the inter-ministerial sub group meets regularly to take various operational decisions to enhance supply of coal to thermal power plants
New Delhi: India recorded a 16% increase in domestic coal production in the current financial year up to January compared with the corresponding period of the previous financial year, coal and mines minister Pralhad Joshi told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, reiterating that there is no coal shortage in the country.
“There is no shortage of coal in the country. The all India coal production in the year 2021-2022 was 778.19 MT in comparison to 716.08 MT in the year 2020-2021. Further, in the current financial year up to January, 2023, the country has produced about 698.24 MT of coal as compared to about 602.49 MT during the same period of last year with a growth of about 16%," the minister said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
He added that the ministry of coal has requested the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to allow coal mines with existing environmental clearances to increase their production without fresh environmental impact assessment or public consultation.
Joshi said that the supply of coal to the power plants is a continuous process. The inter-ministerial sub group comprising representatives from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Railways, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Coal India Limited (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) meet regularly to take various operational decisions to enhance supply of coal to thermal power plants as well as for meeting any contingent situations.
In addition to this, an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) has been constituted comprising railway board chairman, secretary in the ministry of coal; secretaryin Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and secretary in Ministry of Power to monitor augmentation of coal supply and power generation capacity.
Coal dispatch from the captive coal blocks is also being monitored regularly, the minister informed. Coal India Limited, the largest supplier of coal in the country, has dispatched 572.25 MT of coal in the current fiscal (April – January, 2023) achieving a growth of 5.5 % over last year same period. Similarly, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has dispatched 54.1 MT of coal in the in the current fiscal (April – January, 2023).
