WB govt to seek re-allotment of 10 coal blocks

Friday, Feb 23, 2012

Kolkata: The West Bengal government will seek re-allotment of 10 coal blocks that were offered during the Left Front regime but were not taken up by the state. The blocks included the one earmarked for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL).

"We are sending a letter to Union Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal tomorrow seeking re-allotment of 10 coal blocks, including one earmarked for the WBPDCL, which were given to the state during the previous Left Front regime but not taken," Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters here.

The Centre had allotted 16 coal blocks in all but only six were taken by the previous government. He said that the state government would honour all the pre-conditions required for acquiring the blocks.

Chatterjee also said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently for a national iron ore policy for equitable distribution of the mineral from bearing to non-bearing states for the development of the steel industry.

"Steel industry is affected for want of equitable distribution of iron ore from Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and partly Madhya Pradesh to the non-bearing states," the minister said.

(sourced BS)

Rethink on GCV-based coal price

Thursday, Jan 19, 2012

The Ministry of Coal has decided to review the controversial gross calorific value (GCV) mechanism for pricing coal in the country, raising hopes of power companies.

Coal India implemented the GCV mechanism from January 1, which calculates the price of coal on the basis of heat produced by burning it. Earlier, prices were fixed on the basis of moisture and ash content present in coal.

Prices of coal have risen due to this yardstick, and industry is finding it difficult to pass on the cost of the expensive fuel to end-consumers. Indeed, power companies say they have seen their fuel costs go up 40% under the new pricing mechanism.

“We were told by power and other companies about the increase in fuel cost due to this new pricing mechanism. There is some issue with the prices of coal under different categories. We will look into the issue on January 28 with an experts’ group,” said Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Union minister for Coal, said on Wednesday.

Earlier, industry representatives from Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal met coal secretary Alok Perti last week to take up the issue.

While most of the country uses the GCV mechanism to price the black fuel across the industry, Coal India did so only after recommendations by the T L Shankar Committee and also the Integrated Energy Policy document of the Planning Commission.

A non-profit organisation, Howrah Ganatantrik Nagarik Samity, had also filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court accusing the company of making abnormal profits by repeatedly raising prices.

(sourced: DNA)

CIL not likely to hike prices after wage increase

Thursday, 19 Jan 2012

Reuters cited Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal coal minister as saying that State-run Coal India Limited is not expected to raise prices after it finalises a wage increase agreement with its workers later this month.

Coal India last week said it will sign a five-year agreement with workers unions to increase wages by 25%, adding about INR 40 billion to its annual wage bill.

(Sourced from Reuters)

Coal India Ltd gets Finance Ministry's nod for acquiring unlisted foreign companies

Thu,3 Nov, 2011

KOLKATA: Mining company Coal India Ltd (CIL) has got the Finance Ministry's nod for acquiring stake in overseas unlisted firms.

"We have received Union Finance Ministry's clarifications sought for overseas acquisitions. The ministry permitted (us) to go ahead with acquisition of unlisted firms," CIL chairman N C Jha said on the sidelines of the company's Foundation Day celebrations attended by Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.

However, the Finance Ministry has not given complete relaxation to the norm of minimum 12 per cent internal rate of return (IRR) from such acquisitions.

"The Finance Ministry has said we can go ahead with the proposals even if the return is below 12 per cent if they are for strategic reasons, but those has to be cleared by them," Jha said.

He said CIL received proposals offering IRR between 9 and 12 per cent. The Finance Ministry will scrutinise the deals offering below 12 per cent IRR.

CIL, the world's largest coal miner, failed to strike any deal due to procedural delays in approval by the government. It had sought relaxation in two parameters of overseas acquisition norms, which were allowing them to acquire stake in unlisted firms, including those offering below 12 per cent IRR.

Jha said they would now pursue with some of the proposals lying before them.

(sourced ET)

Coal ministry to restore 5 captive coal block allotments to NTPC

Wednesday, 02 Nov 2011

BS reported that in a major development for Maharatna power generator NTPC Limited, the coal ministry is set to restore its five captive coal block allotments in a week.

The blocks were cancelled earlier this year on grounds of delays.

The move would boost the plans of the INR 57,000 crore company to more than double generation capacity to 75,000 MW by ramping up in house coal production to 47 million tonnes per annum, one fourth of its coal requirement over the next five years.

The decision has been prompted by a mix of factors including an urgent need to bridge the burgeoning gap in coal demand and supply, firm commitment of rapid development of the blocks from NTPC, the huge investments already made by the company on power projects linked to the blocks, pressure from the power ministry for restoring the blocks and the recent coal supply crisis.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal coal minister told Business Standard that "NTPC has assured us of quicker development of blocks now. Also, there have been many requests from the power minister. We are likely to give the blocks back as soon as the report of the review committee is submitted in four to five days." He also added NTPC, being a government company, deserves preference in this matter.

An intra ministerial review committee headed by coal secretary Mr Alok Perti has been reviewing the ministry's decision, taken in May 2011, to cancel 14 coal blocks and one lignite block awarded to six public sector undertakings, including NTPC.

Apart from rejuvenating the company’s fuel securing strategy, the decision would also set at rest months of uncertainty over the progress of the government’s captive coal production plan, as NTPC's blocks account for a major chunk of such reserves allotted so far.

The five cancelled blocks Chatti Bariatu, Chatti Bariatu (South), Kerandari, Brahmani and Chichiro Patsimal have combined geological reserves exceeding 3 billion tonne. The first three blocks are meant to supply fuel to two power plants of 1,320 MW capacity each Barh in Bihar and Tanda stage II in Uttar Pradesh. Both the projects, when commissioned, would require over 10 million tonnes of coal annually. The other two blocks are meant to feed the expansion of Kahalgaon power project in Bihar and Farakka in West Bengal.

Waiting For Approval

Coal block	Date of allocation	Target date	Status of progress
Pakri Barwadih	Oct '04	Apr '08	Environmental nod granted, awaited, order for coal handling plant awarded
Chatti Bariatu	Jan '06	Jul '09	Environmental nod granted, forest clearance awaited
Kerandari	Jan '06	Jul '09	Environmental nod granted, forest clearance awaited
Talaipalli	Jan '06	Mar '12	Environmental nod and forest clearance awaited
Dulanga	Jan '06	Sep '11	Environmental nod and forest clearance awaited
Brahman & Chichiro Patsimal	Jan '06	Oct '11	JV company with CIL incorporated in April 2010, exploration underway
Chatti Bariatu (South)	Jul '07	Jan '11	MoU with Mineral Exploration Corp being finalized for exploration, application for land acquisition being submitted

Source - NTPC

An NTPC official informed that almost a half of the INR 6,600 crore investment in Barh has already been made. He added that "Also, Tanda stage II is in advanced stage of progress and the first unit is expected to be commissioned in early 2012-13."

NTPC was awarded a total of eight coal blocks over past seven years with reserves of around 5 billion tonnes. All these were expected to come into production between April 2008 and March 2012. However, not a single block has commenced production so far.

The review exercise could be extended to the cancelled blocks of Damodar Valley Corporation, another PSU under the power ministry, and Jharkhand State Electricity Board. The coal ministry had cancelled DVC’s Saharpur Jamarpani block in Jharkhand and Gondulpara coal block in the same state, jointly allocated to DVC and Tenughat Vidyut Nigam.

(sourced from Business-Standard)

CM to move Centre over coal mining proposal

Oct 30, 2011, |TNN

NAGPUR: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has decided to organize a meeting with union ministry of coal (MoC) to sort out the metro region coal mining issue. About 60,000 hectare land in Nagpur metro region has been declared as coal bearing area. As per norms, a no objection certificate (NOC) from MoC is needed for development in such areas. A controversy has erupted ever since Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) furnished this information to Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT).

Officials of WCL and NIT met Chavan on Saturday afternoon on this issue. NIT chairman Pravin Darade told Chavan that the agency was having major problems in planning of metro region due to the coal bearing area restriction. The CM told WCL officials that the state government was not in favour of new open cast mines in the metro region. A communication in this regard would be sent to MoC soon.

WCL and NIT also mutually agreed that no mining activity will take place within five km radius of the city. Only Godhni and Bokhara areas are within this limit.

Later addressing a press conference, the CM said that there was no problem with underground mines as the area of land to be acquired was far less. "We will have economic development of metro region along with coal mining."

However, NIT and NMC officials had told the CM that underground mining too would create hindrances in development as there are a lot of restrictions in areas located above underground mines.

The CM has not taken much interest in solving the Mor Bhavan bus stand issue. He had promised to solve the issue in seven days during the winter session of the state assembly. When asked about his promise, Chavan just said that talks were on, but did not elaborate.

He said that the government had sanctioned a Rs 110 crore package for providing interest-free loans to cotton ginning mills. However, when asked about the proposed textile parks in Vidarbha he said that the state government was formulating a textile policy. He also put the ball in Centre's court when asked about provision of minimum support price to cotton growers.

On Jairam Ramesh' suggestion to implement EGS through rural development department, he said that the government had a coordination committee and the proposal would have to be decided by it. "We have not promised anything to Ramesh."

(sourced TOI)

Coal Ministry steps up coal supply to power firms

15 Oct, 2011

NEW DELHI: Amid coal shortages hitting power generation in the country, the government today said it has stepped up the supplies to power firms to overcome the crisis of load-shedding.

The ministry swung into action after electricity supply was badly hit in some parts, including North India.

"The coal dispatch has now increased to 180 rakes... out of which 149 rakes have been supplied to power sector," the coal ministry said in a statement.

The ministry had said yesterday that coal dispatches have increased to 169 rakes (as on Thursday), out of which 148 rakes had been supplied to the power sector

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had said on Wednesday that normalcy in coal supply to power firms would be restored within 48 hours.

The total dispatches are likely to be increased further over the next few days, the statement said.

In order to meet the requirements of the power stations in north, the ministry said that it was targeting to increase the supply of rakes to 53 per day. The ministry had dispatched on an average 40 rakes per day of coal in the current month.

"The power plants in the northern region were supplied 140 rakes during the last three days, which includes 16 rakes to Badarpur TPS (Thermal Power Station) and 20 rakes to Dadri TPS," the statement said.

The ministry also said that the coal stock in the power houses, particularly north, was being monitored very closely and wherever required the supply of the fossil fuel was being increased.

"The coal companies have been advised to ensure priority movement of coal to the power stations," the statement said.

The power situation in the country is grim as many plants of the country's largest power generator NTPC are running below capacity levels due to paucity of coal.

Many states including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal, have seen power cuts for long hours in the past few days.

A slew of factors, including floods in Orissa and Telangana agitation, have hit coal supplies to power units.

At present, over 40 thermal power stations have coal stocks sufficient to meet demand for less than a week. As many as 29 projects have less than four days of coal reserves.
(sourced ET)

Coal Regulatory Authority proposed in Indian

Friday, 12 Aug 2011

The Coal Regulatory Authority is proposed to be set up to regulate and conserve resources in the coal sector; protect the interests of consumers and producers of coal and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The proposed Regulator is expected to create a more level playing field for all the players in the coal sector and to facilitate faster resolution of issues relating to economic pricing of coal, bench marking of standards of performance, etc.

Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal minister of state in the ministry of coal and statistics and program implementations informed the Lok Sabha that the comments of concerned Ministries/Departments in this regard have been received. However, it was noticed that some major changes/suggestions have been made by various Ministries/Departments. At present, suitable incorporation of these changes/suggestions is being examined in consultation with the Ministry of Law. Once finalized the draft Bill would be submitted for the approval of the competent authority. However, it may not be possible to indicate the exact time frame by which the proposed Authority is likely to be set up.

Mr Jaiswal said that as stated above, the likely benefits of the Coal Regulatory Authority would be more optimal development of coal resources of the country, which would ensure that the Indian coal companies raise their level of competence to be at par with international competitors. As it would also deal with the issues like mining authorization, production and supply of coal, specify & determine the grades/quality of coal, price of coal, and adjudicate disputes amongst producers and consumers, it is expected to protect the interests of consumers and producers of coal and would effectively deal with the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Minister said that the proposed Coal Regulatory Authority would facilitate more standardized operational norms, establishment of bench marks in safety standards and performance, productivity etc through adoption of best mining practices, which would entail effective resolution of problems confronted by all the stakeholders including coal producing States and coal miners.

Ministry of Coal, Status of Coal Blocks

Monday, 8August, 2011

A total of 41 coal blocks have been allocated to various private and public companies under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 during the last three years, out of which 3 coal blocks have been de-allocated. This information was given by the Minister of Coal, Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Shri Thomas said that the development of coal blocks involves a gestation period of 3 to 7 years for reaching the production stage and another two to three years for reaching the optimal production capacity. As per the guidelines, coal production from a captive coal block should commence within 36 months (42 months in case the area falls in forest land) in case of open cast mines and in 48 months (54 months in case the area falls in forest land) in case of underground mine, from the date of allocation. If a coal block is not explored, additional two years are allowed for detailed exploration and three months for preparation of geological report. The companies who have been allocated coal blocks during the last three years are in various stages of obtaining statutory clearances and mining lease, preparing mining plan, acquisition of land, procuring machinery and equipment etc. for both mining as well as end-use project.

He further said that the responsibility of developing the coal block as per the prescribed guidelines and milestones rests entirely with the allocattee company. In the terms and conditions of the allocation letters, it is categorically mentioned that in the event of willful delay in the development of coal blocks and in setting up of the end use project, the Govt. would take appropriate action to de-allocate the said block.

Government periodically monitors and reviews the development of allocated blocks as well as end use plants by the allocattee companies in the review meetings. Wherever delays are noticed, Government issues show cause notices and advisories to such allocattees cautioning them to bring the coal blocks into production as per the guidelines/milestones chart.

The Coal Controller’s office also monitors on regular basis the achievement of different milestones. Based on the recommendations made by the Review Committees from time to time, the Central Government has de-allocated 24 coal blocks till date, the Minister added.

Jaiswal rejects PowerMin proposal to stop coal e-auction

31 May, 2011, 06.51PM IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today rejected the power ministry's proposal of stopping e-auction of the dry fuel, saying the electronic route for selling coal needs to be continued for meeting the demands of small users.

"Apart from power, steel and cement, there are a lot of sectors where coal is required. Coal India is required to meet their needs as well. Hence, it is not possible to stop the e-auction," Jaiswal told reporters here.

Power Ministry had earlier requested the coal ministry to stop e-auctioning of coal to meet the requirement of the sector.

"Small users' need is also to be addressed. If stopped, we would not be able to supply coal to them," he said.

Power firms currently have 12 days of coal stock, the minister said, adding that given the current state of affairs in the coal sector, this was not a bad achievement.

Coal distribution through e-auction was introduced to provide access to coal for such consumers who are not able to source it through the available institutional mechanisms due to seasonality of requirement, limited needs not warranting long-term linkage, etc.

E-auctioning of coal also fetches a good return for the state-run Coal India, which sold 47 mn tonnes last fiscal, raking in Rs 8,800 crore out of its total revenue of around Rs 50,000 crore. CIL sells around 10 per cent of its production through the e-auction route.

To a query on starting coal blocks bidding in lines of National Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) for oil and gas blocks auctioning, Jaiswal said that his ministry would soon take the shareholders' views before flagging it off.

"However, we will just take their views. The competitive bidding of the coal blocks will happen. It will not depend upon their views," he said.

The minister also said the policy on allocation of small and isolated coal and lignite blocks has been finalised and would be placed in the public domain.

Besides, Jaiswal said, policy guidelines on disposal of surplus coal were under preparation. He exuded confidence that the coal distribution policy, which is to be reviewed on June 6, is likely to be finalised in two to three months.

The minister also said that a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of Coal Secretary C Balakrishnan has been monitoring the implementation of Jharia and Raniganj Master Plan involving an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore. (sourced ET)

E auction of coal to continue in India - Mr Jaiswal

Friday, 27 May 2011

ET reported that union minister for coal Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal has ruled out scrapping e auction of coal, rejecting the demand of the power ministry.

The power ministry had said last week that e auctions should be stopped until enough coal is supplied to power plants. About 10% of the coal is sold through this electronic auction platform every year. E auction is a major revenue earner for CIL as coal is sold at 80% to 90% premium over base prices.

CIL intends to sell around 45 million tonnes coal this year through e auction of which around 5 million tonnes is likely to be through forward auction.

Mr Jaiswal said that "Any step to curb e auction will only increase pithead stock. E auction of coal was stopped due to litigations soon after it was started. It was resumed after the Supreme Court allowed it. There is already a huge stock of coal lying at pitheads which is creating problems. If e auction is stopped another 10% stock will accumulate."

CIL's pit head stocks at present is about 64 million tonnes, down a little from about 70 million tonnes during the beginning of the current financial. Large stocks of coal if accumulated at a single location catches fire, specially during summers, leading to destruction of stocks, hence CIL is always trying to reduce its pit head stocks.

On coal block auction, Mr Jaiswal said that "The competitive bidding round for coal blocks in the country will be held soon."

Though the exact number of coal blocks that will be put on auction is not known, it is believed that the government is ready with 50 to 75 blocks. The launch of the competitive bidding rounds were delayed due to the controversy over classification of certain coal blocks as 'Go' and 'No Go' areas by the Environment Ministry. The issue is likely to be resolved at the scheduled review meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on coal production on June 7th 2011. CIL can also participate in the coal block auction if it feels so. (sourced Economic Times)

CIL output growth seen almost nil this fiscal: official

March 06, 2011, 15:20 IST By PTI

New Delhi :Coal India's (CIL) production growth is likely to nosedive to less than 1% in the current financial year compared to the projected growth of about 7%, as a number of its projects have been hit by environmental concerns, a top Coal India official has said.

State-owned CIL has set a production target of about 460 million tonne for this fiscal.

"Due to 'no-go' classification by the Environment Ministry, several CIL projects are lying stranded. The production growth, as compared to the last fiscal is likely to be almost nil this fiscal," a Coal India official told PTI.

In the year 2010-11, CIL's coal output, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic production, is expected to be almost the same as 2009-10 fiscal years' 431.26 million tonne.

CIL's 2009-10 coal output was 7% more than the previous fiscal.

In 2008-09 CIL's production stood at 403 million tonne.

Talking about the decline in production, CIL's former Chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya, who retired on Feb 28, said: "Coal production has taken a dip due to non clearance of projects and no go classification, which has affected many a projects of the company."

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal last month had said that the growth rate has already declined to less than 2% on account of environmental concerns.

"We are trying our best that we restore it to 7% again in the next fiscal," he had said.

Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoEF) has put 203 coal blocks with a potential output of 660 million tonne per annum in nine coalfields under the 'no go' mining zone.

Besides, as many as 154 projects of CIL are stalled due to delay in environmental and forest clearances at the Centre and state level.

The government has already constituted a 12-member ministerial panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to address the issues hurting coal production. The Group of Ministers which has already met once is likely to meet again this month.

The Coal Ministry, meanwhile, has said that 23 CIL projects, falling under areas categorised as 'critically polluted' under Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index (CEPI) by the MoEF, were likely to get the green signal.

CEPI captures the various health dimensions of the environment and acts as a warning tool to facilitate early intervention.(sourced:Business standard)

Indian coking coal needs may go up by 22pct next fiscal - Mr Jaiswal

Thursday, 03 Mar 2011

According to Indian coal minister Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, India's coking coal requirements could increase by nearly 22% to 85.34 million tonnes in the next fiscal

Mr Jaiswal said that “Coking coal requirement for steel production is expected to be 85.34 million tonnes in 2011-12, as steel production is dependent on coking coal.”

Mr Jaiswal added that “Coal demand from the domestic cement industry also looks bright and it is expected that coal need would rise steadily during 2011-12.”

The domestic steel industry is expected to use about 70 million tonnes of coking coal in the current financial year ending Mar 31. The country is likely to produce about 65 million tonnes of steel in the current financial year. India meets about 70% if its coking coal needs through imports from countries including Australia, Indonesia and the US. The Minister said that thermal coal requirements for power utilities, too, would grow at 10% during the next financial year. (By TheHindu)

Tags : Australia, Indonesia, U.S., thermal coal, power plants

Jairam Ramesh gives go-ahead to sixteen coal projects

NDTV Correspondent,
Updated: February 15, 2011 14:35 IST

New Delhi: Ahead of a meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the coal issue on Friday, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has agreed to clear sixteen coal projects that have been stuck for a year now.

Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal told NDTV that he had a fruitful meeting with Jairam Ramesh who has agreed to relax pollution norms slightly, thus allowing sixteen projects of the state-owned Coal India Limited to go ahead.

"My meeting with Jairam Ramesh was fruitful, he understood our problems. We are both doing our duties...a final meeting with the GoM is still pending."

The meeting between the two ministers was held on February 10.


The softening of stand over the coal projects preceded months of confrontation between the environment and the coal ministries with Jairam clearly demarcating go and no-go areas for coal projects.

This resulted in several projects being held up.

The face-off between the two ministries had reportedly led Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to reconsider the policy of 'no-go' mining areas in view of coal shortages that the power sector is facing.


Tags: coal mining, Coal ministry, Environment Ministry, Jairam Ramesh, Jairam Sriprakash Jaiswal, no-go areas, Sriprakash Jaiswal

ndia Coal Imports May Fall

JANUARY 20, 2011

NEW DELHI -- India's coal imports may fall this financial year after extreme weather conditions in main producing countries pushed up global prices, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said Thursday.

International coal prices have surged in recent months because of heavy floods in Australia's Queensland region that have disrupted mining activities at a time when demand from Asian importers such as China and India remains strong. India imported 44.28 million tons of thermal coal and 23.46 million tons of coking coal in the last financial year that ended March 31, 2010.

JANUARY 20, 2011

The South Asian nation is likely to face a shortage of 83 million tons this financial year as local output of 573.42 million tons lags demand of 656.31 million tons. Lower-than-estimated imports could hurt electricity generation while surging prices may hurt earnings at cement, power and steel companies.

The power ministry had fixed an import target of 35 million tons of coal this financial year. The utilities imported 16.12 million tons until December-end, the Central Electricity Authority's website showed.

The agency said generation at coal-based power plants rose 3% from a year earlier in the April-December period to 387.91 gigawatt-hours, but missed the government's target of 406.51 gigawatt-hours mainly due to coal shortages.

According to the globalCoal website, the price of thermal coal rose to $136.30 a ton at Australia's Newcastle port for the week ending Jan. 14, from $129.90 a ton the previous week.

Mumbai-based Kotak Securities Ltd. said in a Jan. 11 note that the price of Australian coking coal has surged 32% year-on-year to $230 a ton.

Australia supplies two-thirds of the global market in the premium hard coking coal used in blast furnaces, and the Newcastle port is the world's biggest thermal coal export terminal.

Minister Jaiswal also said the ministry may consider raising domestic coal prices after July.

"Coal India Ltd. is due to finalize its next wage revision by then. So the quantum of the rise will be dependent on the burden of the wage revision on the company," he said.

State-run Coal India, which accounts for more than four-fifths of local production, is free to fix coal prices but in consultation with the government.

sourced:The Wall street Journal, by Saurabh Chaturvedi & Rakesh Sharma