Production target of 482 mn tonne looks challenging: Coal India

Company said yesterday that it has achieved output of 39 MT in November, missing its production target of 41.93 MT

Coal India Ltd today said the production target of 482 million tonne for the current fiscal looks challenging in view of the shutdown of mining activities in Talcher Coalfields in Odisha, and Cyclone Phailin.

The comment comes on the heels of Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal asking state-owned CIL to ensure that the output target for FY14 is met.

"We are losing 2 lakh tonne production and offtake per day from that place (Talcher Coalfields) for the last four to five days. Now the final shut down for the last four days," Coal India Chairman and Managing Director S Narsing Rao told reporters here.

When asked does the annual production target for the current fiscal look challenging for Coal India he said "Obviously. There are only 119 days left".

Mining activities at Talcher Coalfields in Odisha, including coal transportation, came to a halt on November 29 following violence by a group of labourers protesting against the arrest of some of their colleagues at Jagannath area in Angul district.

The mining activities in around six coal blocks (in Talcher Coalfields) of Coal India subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd has been affected due to violence.

Talcher Coalfields produces and dispatches around 2 lakh tonne coal per day and feeds the NTPC plants and the NALCO CPP besides other power producers of the country.

Rao said: "The current crisis, I cannot say, when can be sorted out but we are hoping because state government is fully aware of it and they are taking steps."

CIL said yesterday that it has achieved output of 39.20 MT in November, missing its production target of 41.93 MT.

According to a CIL official, the PSU suffered production loss in October due to Cyclone Phailin, which affected the key coal producing states of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Jaiswal had earlier said that though production at CIL has been hit in October due to Cyclone Phailin.

CIL, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic production, contributed 452.5 MT of coal in the previous financial year compared with the target of 464 MT.