 "A worker carries a container filled with drinking water at a railway coal yard on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. Photo: Reuters")
Coal production from coal mines allocated through the momentous e-auction continues to be low, but the operations are on schedule for most of them. In the latest review by the Ministry of Coal, of the 79 coal mines allocated last year, the total production is 22 million tonnes, up from 20 million tonnes in March 2016.
The 79 mines reviewed are divided into Schedule-II producing mines and Schedule-III operational mines. Of the 34 producing ones auctioned to private companies and allotted to state governments, 10 have started production. The seven mines spread across Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are stuck in state level clearances and judicial matters.
As most of the mines are on schedule, the government is expecting that they will meet the production target by the end of the financial year. Schedule III mines, which would have to start production from scratch, are moving steadily. Leaving three mines — Ganeshpur, Miral and Majra — rest of the 38 are on time.
| Quick facts |
| Schedule-II producing coal mines: |
| Under production: 10 |
| Total production: 22 million tonne |
| Behind schedule mines: 7 |
| The mines behind schedule: |
| Tokisud North (Jharkhand): Mining lease received recently |
| Gare Palma-IV/7 (Chhattisgarh): Delay in extending vesting order by the state |
| Kathautia (Jharkhand): land under sub-judice case |
| Marki Mangli III (Maharashtra): Fresh environment clearance needed |
| Ardhagram (West Bengal): Vesting order recently issued; forest clearance in January |
| Trans Damodar (West Bengal): Delay in extending vesting order by the state |
| Marki Mangli I (Maharashtra): Stuck at local authority level |
"The only mines which are facing legal cases have not started operations. The judgement is reserved in all those cases. As and when the decision comes, these mines will also start production. The timeline would be met by most of the mines," said a senior government official.
The review was held last week by the ministry of coal with the mine bearing states and mine owners. In six months from receiving the vesting order by the respective state government, Schedule-II mines are supposed to touch at least 90 per cent of the annual scheduled production or reach rated capacity as per the approved mining plan in case of opencast mines. The target for underground mines is 80 per cent of the annual scheduled production or reaching the rated capacity as per the approved mining plan.
In case of default at any point, the central government can deduct a particular amount from the Performance Security of the company or state agency operating the mine.
"As the delay was at the level of the state government in extending the vesting order to the mine owner, so, for now, no mine is defaulting on their timeline," said an official.
Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have started mining. However, in the case of Jharkhand, which has the maximum (15) out of the mines which were allocated, production has not started in a single one.
State government officials in Jharkhand said the state is performing due diligence before giving the final nod to mining. The officials refused to comment further. Government sources said it was after the mines were allocated to successful bidders that the state decided to revisit the land clearances.
Post a judgement of the Supreme Court in August 2014 cancelling all coal block allocations from the past two decades, the ministry of coal started re-allocation through transparent e-auctions. It allocated 34 operational coal mines to private companies through auction and to states through allotment, for both power and non-power sector.
