The coal ministry will approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next month for raising the domestic selling price, which are one-third the global levels at present.
"Domestic coal prices are much lower than the market price. We will take up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the issue of increasing coal prices after the Budget session of Parliament," Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told PTI.
He said that the low coal prices, which were last revised in 2007, also affected the financial position of state-owned producer Coal India Ltd (CIL), in which Jaiswal is seeking up to 10 per cent disinvestment.
Domestic coal prices, at about $25 a tonne, are almost one-third the rates prevailing in the international market.
CIL has said that its multi-billion dollar projects, including underground mining, will become unviable if prices are not hiked on priority.
The state-run entity has been partially hit by the slump in coal demand on account of recession. The coal-wage pact, involving a payment that was revised upwards to about Rs 4,000 crore, between CIL and its workers, is a factor behind the firm wanting to hike rates.
The government is considering 5-10 per cent disinvestment in CIL, which had a pre-tax profit of Rs 8,700 crore in the last fiscal.
