34 coal mines to start ops by March

The Coal Ministry has set a target to start mining in 34 Schedule-II coal mines by March 31, 2016, said a top ministry official.

"I am glad to report that about 10 captive mines have already started mining and others are in the process. This will augment the availability of coal in the country. Coal India has achieved record production this year with more than 9.7% growth over previous year. The power plants this year are stacked with coal with inventories of 25 days as against 5-7 days last year. We want to ensure that the captive mines also start moving and the review today was to see if there are any problems or bottlenecks. We will attempt to remove them so that at least the Schedule-II mines (where production were happening earlier) can begin production before March 31," said coal secretary Anil Swarup.

In Odisha, one mine has started production, he added.

Asked on the next round of auctions, Swarup said lack of interest from private players and record availability of coal had held up the auctions. The next round of auctions would take off upon revival of interest from the private sector, he said.

Swarup today met top officials from seven states including Odisha here to discuss steps to enhance coal production at the captive mines.