The Group of Ministers (GoM) on coal will meet on June 9 for an early resolution of issues hurting coal production amid an increasing demand and supply gap, which is likely to touch 137 million tonne in 2011-12.
"Today it has been decided that the meeting of the Group of Ministers on coal will now take place on June 9 instead on June 16," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told PTI.
The meeting had to be advanced from June 16 to June 9 as Coal Minister is going on a delegation-level visit to three European nations--Czech Republic, Belarus and Poland--this month, seeking technology for underground mining.
The GoM was constituted in February this year to sort out tussles between ministries on environment norms affecting projects, especially in the coal sector.
The 12-member GoM has met twice in February and April, but could not reach at any conclusion then.
The third meeting, which was scheduled to be held in end of April could not take place despite Coal Ministry repeatedly showing concerns that delays in green clearances were affecting expansion of coal projects.
The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) in 2009 had categorised 203 coal blocks as 'no go' mining zone. The output from these 203 blocks can generate around 1.3 lakh MW of power per annum as per the estimates of the Coal Ministry.
The Coal Ministry has been demanding permission to mine at least 90% of these 203 blocks to meet the ever widening demand-supply gap of the dry fuel. The shortage of coal is likely to reach 200 million tonne by 2016-17.
In the second meeting of the GoM, the Environment Ministry had proposed that it was prepared to consider an approach (on go/no go) that could free 71% of area in the nine coalfields (203 blocks).
Originally, the Environment Ministry had proposed to free only 53% of the area in the nine coalfields.