Coal India seeks faster environmental clearances

Coal India Ltd (CIL), the world’s largest coal producer, has recommended the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to expedite environmental clearances to both public sector and private sector coal mining companies. The recommendation was made in the light of power sector reforms the government is presently pursuing.

Speaking on the sidelines of the press meet on Thursday in Mumbai, Partha S Bhattacharyya, chairman of CIL, said environmental clearances take 5-7 years from the district and block level to the MoEF. Clearances are signed at least by 37 different cadre officials. At any stage, if an official seeks a clarification, he reaches the junior official that percolates to the block level. This means, a small clarification takes at least 2-3 months from low- to mid-level officials.

Bhattacharyya demanded that the job for environmental clearances should be assigned to industry experts and cleared within a stipulated time.

If India has to achieve coal production growth of 8-9 per cent, the rate at which demand has been increasing, speedy environment clearances are required. Last year, the company recorded 6.4 per cent production growth, first-ever since inception. The output has been growing between 4 - 5.5 per cent on y-o-y basis.

Referring to President Pratibha Patil’s address to the joint session of the Parliament on Thursday, Bhattacharyya said, “We had made some suggestions to the government to increase coal production through efficient underground mining, technological advancement in open pit mining, exploration potential in unviable mines other than increasing efficiency of borewells.”

In her address, the President had said the blueprint for coal sector reforms was ready.

According to the working group estimates India would require 731 million tonnes of coal by 2011-12 of which domestic production from both public and private sector would constitute 680 million tonnes. The remaining 51 million tonnes is proposed to be met through imports. While considering overall linkages, the overall consumption is likely to rise to 750 million tonnes of which Coal India alone would constitute 520 million tonnes and The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd will contribute 40 million tonnes and the rest by private companies.

CIL had recorded a 6.4 per cent growth in its coal output surpassing the benchmark 400 million tonnes in 2008-09.

The company’s coal production grew to 403.73 million tonnes during 2008-09 and it expects a 7 per cent growth in the present fiscal. The coal PSU’s production is projected at 520 million by 2012 about, 210 million tonnes less than the estimated demand of 730 million tonnes by then.

Meanwhile, the company may raise basic selling prices of all types of coal soon to offset the excessive burden it had borne through wage revision of employees of both executive and non-executive staffs.

Without outlining the quantum of prices rise, Partha S Bhattacharyya, chairman of CIL, said on the sidelines of a press meet in Mumbai on Thursday, “There would be a need to raise prices to compensate the additional cost on us to the tune of Rs 7,864.73 crore.” Market sources believe that the prices would increase at least between 10-15 per cent. This bout of wage revision has turned 33 mines unviable.

The company aims to import 4 million tonnes of non-coking coal this fiscal for the first time since its inception mainly to meet the demands of power-generating firms in the country.