Coal production in the country slumped to 413.9 million tonnes (mt) in the current financial year up to January, compared to 424.5 mt in the year-ago period, the government said on Wednesday. The fall in production comes at a time when acute fuel shortage is hurting the power sector. Minister of state for coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil while replying to a written question in Lok Sabha attributed the shortfall in coal production to delay in clearances from the ministry of environment and forests and excessive rainfall among others.