Need to further augment production of coal: Jaiswal

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has emphasised the need for further augmenting the production of coal in view of rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuel to support the nation's energy requirements.
The development comes at a time when Coal India (CIL), which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production, has said that it may miss its output target for the current fiscal by about 12 million tonnes (MT).
The Coal Minister, "emphasised the need for further augmentation of the production in view of rapidly increasing demand for coal to support the energy requirements of the country," according to an official document.

The minister, while Chairing the meeting of the Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines, also appreciated the efforts put by the workers, officers, trade union leaders and the other stakeholders in enhancing coal production in the country.
The state-owned firm had fixed a production target of 482 MT for 2013-14 financial year ending March 31.
"As per estimates, we are likely to achieve an output of 470 MT for the fiscal as a number of factors have resulted in less output. We may miss the target by more than 10 MT," Coal India Chairman and Managing Director S Narsing Rao recently said.

He had attributed the projected production loss to a number of factors, including delays in securing clearances to CIL projects, cyclone Phailin and problems in evacuation among others.
CIL, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic production, contributed 452.5 MT of coal in 2012-13 as against the target of 464 MT.