'Centre to form JVs with states for coal evacuation'

The government today said it will form JVs with mineral-rich states for faster evacuation and transportation of coal to fuel power plants and make available cheaper electricity for the people.
It was stated at the signing of a pact between the Coal Ministry, the Railways Ministry and the Odisha government to form a joint venture (JV) for identifying projects for evacuation of coal through rail.
The Coal Ministry or its PSU will hold 64 per cent stake, Ministry of Railways or its PSU 26 per cent and the Odisha government will have a 10 per cent equity in the JV, which will have an authorised capital of Rs 1,000 crore.

The JV will undertake projects worth Rs 3,689 crore that includes rail corridors of Brundamal-Jharsuguda, Sambalpur- Talcher, Sambalpur-Titlagarh and Raipur-Titlagarh doublings and Champa-Jharsuguda line among others.
Both, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu said it is a mega step towards affordable power generation.
"An MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) has been signed for a JV among Railways Ministry, Coal Ministry and Odisha government in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream for a team India for development projects," Goyal said.

Terming the JV a "win-win partnership for all" Goyal said through it a new history was being created in which various departments and ministries of the centre and states would work "as an organic entity to serve the nation and its people".

Odisha will stand to benefit tremendously as on account of more coal and minerals transportation from there it stands to benefit from huge royalty and auction revenues, he added.
Sale of coal and minerals will be done through transparent auction by Coal and Mines Ministries, he said.
Allaying fears that there would be power cuts on account of lesser generation from hydel projects during summers, Goyal said there was sufficient coal stock.
Prabhu said the Centre is looking at forming similar pacts for JVs with states including Chhattishgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal for evacuation of coal and minerals.
"Coal is the biggest source of revenue for railways as its 50 per cent revenue comes from it. There are shortages of railway links to mines. We have decided to give connectivity between mines and market for transporting coal and other minerals such as cement, steel and iron ore," Prabhu said.

These steps not only benefit the ministries concerned but also the people. He also termed the Coal and Mines Act as "big achievements" of the Modi Government.
Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said initiatives by the new government like auction of coal have removed "corruption" from Indian politics.