SECL curbs supply to nine states

The coal shortage in power plants in the country has forced South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), india’s largest coal producing company, to curtail coal supply to the private parties in as many as nine states.

“Following the order of the Union Government, SECL has curtailed coal supplies to the private parties by about 30 per cent to ensure reserves for the state-run power plants that are reeling under severe coal crises,” SECL spokesperson Alok Sinha told Business Standard.

According to Sinha, the crisis coincided with delay in shipping of imported coal.

He claimed this was temporary and the company would soon restore normal supply to the private parties getting coal on linkage from SECL, which mines coal in the districts of Bilaspur, Korba, Raigarh, Surguja and Koriya in Chhattisgarh and in districts of Shahdol, Umaria and Anuppur district in Madhya Pradesh.

 

Industrial users in nine states including Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh received coal from SECL.

In 2007-08, SECL produced 93.79 million tonnes of coal from its 93 mines—72 underground, 20 open cast and 1 mixed mines.

Chhattisgarh got maximum coal from SECL with about 36 per cent of the total coal produced by the company was supplied to the local units.

The coal crisis had hit sponge iron units in Chhattisgarh, already reeling under iron-ore shortage.

“Industries are facing a coal crisis and if SECL curtails supply further, the most of the 125-odd sponge iron units in the state will have to close down the plant by September 15,” sponge iron manufacturers association President Anil Nachrani said.

Nachrani alleged that SECL was fudging facts and there was no shortage of coal especially when SECL production had increased by 3 million tonnes this year.