<p>Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Ajay Rajak Vs Ministry of Coal & Others dated 04/07/2023.</p> <p>The matter is related to illegal coal mines
In the absence of transport network and faster envt clearances, benefits will be limited After nearly 40 years of state ownership, the chorus of support for privatisation of coal mines is growing louder. With the economy ravenously short of coal to fire its power plants, and the state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL), which has a near monopoly in the sector, failing to meet the ever increasing demand from industry, the cause of privatisation is gathering strength.
Aims to maximise realisation to meet Rs 30,000-cr target FinMin to meet ministries this week To maximise realisations from stake sale in two companies in its disinvestment pipeline — Oil India Ltd (OIL) and NTPC — the government has planned to sort out some of the issues before launching offer for sale (OFS). The stake sale in the two companies is critical to meeting the government’s Rs 30,000-crore disinvestment target for the current financial year, as the government has managed to garner only about Rs 6,900 crore so far.
In an attempt to make power plants using imported coal viable, the government will recast its coal allocation policy to ensure that all such projects that have reached advanced levels of completion get up to 30% of their fuel requirements through indigenously produced coal. The move would benefit six power projects of Adani Power, JSW Steel, Coastal Energen, DCW and Ind Barath Power. The total capacity of these projects is about 4,650 MW and their combined coal requirement is roughly six million tonne.
In its report on India’s coal sector, Pune-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Prayas Energy Group has made a strong pitch for the setting up of an independent regulator to improve the performance and accountability of coal companies and provide a level-playing field. An independent regulator, however, needs to be responsible not only for issues such as pricing, quality and contract adherence, but also meeting production targets, safety, mine restoration and compliance to environmental norms.
State-run coal miner Coal India Ltd is heading for a restructuring, with the government on Monday inviting expressions of interest (EoI) from consultants to draw out a plan. The idea is to spin off CIL subsidiaries as independent entities to ramp up production by infusing competition. “It has been proposed to take up a study for restructuring CIL to assess drawbacks inherent in a monopolistic situation, for improving competition among coal mining companies, for evolving administrative structures to enhance planning capability in companies and improving investment plans,” the coal ministry said in a statement. Consultants have 15 days to submit EoIs and three months to submit the report.
India’s largest coal producer, staterun Coal India is not eligible for the first set of auctions for blocks although 17 of them are meant for public undertakings. “We have been given to understand that the blocks on offer under the auction are not meant for us. It is for stateowned power utilities and other entities that require coal as a raw material,” CIL chairman S Narsing Rao told ET. CIL has also not been informed so far about the blocks that were taken away from the private operators. It was earlier reported that the monopoly company may be given some of the blocks that were taken back by the government. “We have no information yet. Some of the companies have approached court and there is no clarity on the status of these blocks,” said Rao.
Says CIL Doesn’t Have Capacity To Meet Demand Of 43,000 MW Power Plants New Delhi: Planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has made a strong pitch for privatization of the coal sector to meet the growing coal demand from the industry. Ahluwalia, who advocated private investment in the coal sector, argued, “If petroleum, which is much scarcer than coal, is open to private sector, there is no reason why coal should not be opened up.” Ahluwalia maintained that Coal India doesn’t have the capacity to meet the coal demand of 43,000 MW power plants.
Govt keen on ensuring fuel security doesn’t come in way of growth revival plans Concerned that fuel scarcity could hamper plans to revive economic growth, the government is planning to further relax green clearance norms for mining projects. Coal mining operations, which are stuck due to delays in forest clearance, may now get approvals on fast-track basis from the environment ministry even if less than 50% of the population of affected villages give their nod for the project.
Environment ministry had exempted some mining projects from public hearings The environment ministry’s latest relaxation of green norms for expansion of projects in the mining sector is set to lead to an annual rise of 45 million tonnes (mt) in Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) production. In a notification issued last month, the ministry had exempted all mining projects seeking capacity expansion of up to 25 per cent from local public hearings. The move is aimed at reducing delays in green clearances.
The coal ministry today said 35 power firms have so far entered into fuel supply agreements (FSAs)with Coal India Limited (CIL), amid the government stating that most issues relating to such pacts have been resolved. The statement follows the government announcing last month that power companies are likely to ink fuel supply pacts with CIL in a month's time. "CIL after resolving the pending issues with power utilities have already signed 35 FSAs out of 114," the coal ministry said in a statement. The ministry also expressed hopes that the remaining 79 fuel supply pacts would be signed shortly. "The balance (FSAs) are expected to be completed shortly," the statement said.
