 "Don't foresee any coal shortage till March 2022, says Coal India chief")
Coal India Ltd on Thursday said it does not foresee any shortage of dry fuel for power producers till March 2022 as it is focusing on ramping up production to secure a stock of about 70 million tonne by end of the current fiscal.
Around 100 million tonne of pithead stock, which was carried forward from the last fiscal, was "not desired" but it helped the miner meet requirements when coal demand went up a few months ago, an official said.
"We don't foresee any challenge for coal till March for supplying to power stations as we are ramping up production so that we can add around 40 million tonne to the stock to achieve a desirable stock level of 70 million tonne by the year-end, Coal India chairman Pramod Agrawal said at an e-conclave organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said the last quarter saw "high" output, and issues related to the production of Central Coalfields Ltd and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd are also getting resolved.
The Maharatna PSU produced 125.83 million tonne of coal in the July-September quarter, up from 114.98 million tonne in the year-ago period.
The miner is also optimistic about resolving issues pertaining to land for Rajmahal mine of Eastern Coalfields with the Jharkhand government at the earliest, he said.
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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had in July asked Coal India for immediate payment of Rs 56,000 crore outstanding dues in lieu of government land allotted to it for mining.
The coal behemoth is also exploring opportunities in solar power and mining other resources.
We are trying for bauxite mining in Odisha, and if we get it, we will go for an aluminium project," Agrawal said.
The Centre had already approved diversification plans of the miner.
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