"CIL target will be off by 2-3 mn tn this fiscal"
New Delhi, Mar 5 : Current target for production of state-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL) will be off by 2-3 million tonnes due to work interruption in coal sector, said Coal Secretary S K Srivastava here on Tuesday. During an ASSOCHAM conference on mining in India, Srivastava said the preferential allotment of 17 coal blocks to public sector units should over by mid of April. He also said: "The Ministry of Coal is regularly monitoring coal production, off take and the status of environmental and forestry clearances apart from keeping a close liaison with the state governments so as to achieve the production targets." "The 11th plan ended with an overall production of 540 million tonnes in 2011-12 against which the production envisaged in the 12th plan is 795 million tonnes implying a growth of 8pc . The gap between the demand and domestic supply in the terminal year 2016-17 of the 12th plan works out to 185 million tonnes which needs to be through imports," he said. Srivastava further said, "To achieve the projected growth in production a number of new projects are planned to be taken up in PSU coal companies and a number of coal blocks have been allocated to various private and government companies and few more are in the pipeline for allocation." "For increased transparency in coal block allocation the provisions of MMDR Act have been amended and new set of rules have been framed for allotting new blocks through competitive bidding.
"Recently 14 blocks for power and 3 for mining have been put on offer under government dispensation route. Few more blocks for offer to private sector are in the pipeline," he said.
In order to fast track development of some of the coal blocks in CIL, it is proposed to develop these blocks through mine developer and operator (MDO), the Coal Secretary said.
"For setting up of regulatory authority of coal is under consideration of a group of ministers. Further, focus is laid on enhancing the exploration efforts and upgradation of technologies particularly for enhancing production from underground mines," he said.
Srivastava also said that the coal ministry is rigorously following with ministry of railways for implementing the identified critical rail links in these coalfields as well as establishing last mile connectivity.
"The ministry has been taking steps to improve the energy efficiency programmes including improving the quality of coal supplies for consistency of quality of coal being dispatched to various consumers," he said.
While addressing the conference, Union Minister of Mines Dinsha J Patel urged the miners to support "Zero West Mining" practices with lesser environmental impact.
He also called for closer cooperation between various stakeholders and also emphasized the need for cooperation from state government which is critically important for the success of mining sector.
S K Roongta, Managing Director, Vedanta Aluminum Limited, said, "Currently mining contributes 2.3% to the country's GDP. The sectors share has remained flat in the total GDP for the last 15 years. India's reserve to production (R/P) ratio and the reserves to resources ratio remain very low in comparison to those in other mining countries."
He further said that the government should utilize India's vast natural resources for faster economic growth and also need a clear policy roadmap to accelerate development of domestic industry. "Speedy approvals and predictable and stable policies will motivate domestic and overseas investor."
C S Verma, Chairman, SAIL and CMD of NMDC Ltd., said that the demand for mineral products continues to go up and fuels the growth engine for economies and societies.
"But simply meeting market demand for minerals commodities falls far short of meeting society's expectations of industry, the mining and minerals industry faces varying and sometimes seemingly contradictions expectations from different stakeholders," he said.
Other who spoke during the session were ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat andC P Baid, Deputy Managing Director- Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd.