MP slams Centre for coal shortage

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said the state would not be able to ensure uninterrupted power supply, alleging that the central government had “deliberately” reduced the supply of coal.

“The central government is putting surplus coal on auction but has cut our coal supply,” he said while trespassing Pathakheda coal mines No 2 (in Betul district) in presence of officials and Western coal field mines security staff as part of his seven-km ‘padyatra’ from Sarni to Pathakheda coalfield.

However, mine officials said that Pathakheda mines supply 94 per cent of their stock to the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board.

“There is an agreement and we are supplying coal to the power plants accordingly,” a senior official of Western Coalfields Ltd told Business Standard. Pathakheda mines fall under the Western Coalfields area.

The chief minister further said: “The Central Electricity Authority has recommended 1.71 million tonnes coal per month for the state but the central government-sponsored Coal Linkage Committee has reduced the supply to only 1.26 mt per month. Of this, only 65 per cent is being made available to us.”