Goyal assures adequate coal for Odisha industries

Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal assured Odisha on Monday that the central government will make every effort to ensure adequate availability of coal for the state's power sector and other industries.

During a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Odisha Bhavan in New Delhi, Goyal said the union government will ensure that the state receives maximum revenue from the coal blocks auction process, the Chief Minister's Office here said in a release.

The chief minister during the meeting expressed concern at the minuscule portion of benefits derived by Odisha compared to other states from the ongoing coal blocks auction.

He emphasised that a large number of coal blocks in Odisha have been earmarked for the power sector which witnesses a reverse bidding process and puts the state in a comparatively disadvantageous position.

The chief minister also said that out of nine coal blocks of Odisha earmarked for auction so far, only one coal block been earmarked for the non-regulated sector.

During the discussion, the chief minister said a large number of industries in Odisha will be put to great disadvantage due to non-earmarking of adequate number of coal blocks to meet their captive requirements.

The power minister assured him that the central government shall address the just concerns of the state and ensure that the industries of the Odisha do not suffer on account of inadequate availability of coal for meeting their captive requirement, the statement said.

He further assured that a large coal block will be earmarked for commercial mining for the benefit of the industries of the state.

In addition, another significant coal block will be allocated to a state public sector undertaking, it said.