All efforts to achieve targeted coal output: Jaiswal

Union minister of state for coal, Sripraksh Jaiswal today asserted that all efforts will be made to achieve the targeted coal production by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the current financial year to meet the nation’s need.

CIL has targeted to produce 475 million tonne coal during the current financial year which is 10 per cent higher than the last year’s achievement of 431 million tonne coal production against a target of 435 million tonne.

Jaiswal also hoped that the CIL subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), which operates two coalfields at Talcher and Ib Valley in Orissa, will also meet its annual target of 123 million tonne in the current fiscal.

Speaking to newsmen at MCL headquarters at Burla on Wednesday, Jaiswal said, the budget for MCL’s corporate social responsibility activities has been raised to Rs 50 crore in the current fiscal, a five fold increase compared to the last year. He said, the foundation stone for a medical college at Talcher, to be built by MCL, will be laid soon. Informing that he did not have any discussion with Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue of coal royalty revision, the coal minister said, a committee has been formed to look into the demand for coal royalty hike. The royalty is being revised every three years, he added.