The Odisha government has asked the Union Coal Ministry not to further allocate coal fields to any party other than state-owned mining undertakings, official sources said today.
"Additional requirement of non-coking coal for the ongoing projects in the state is 250 MTA, for which additional coal reserve of about 10,000 million tonnes are required. Hence, no further coal blocks from Odisha should be allocated to any other party under the Auction by Competitive Bidding for Coal Mines Rules, 2012, except the state mining PSU," state steel and mines department wrote to P Soma Shekhar Reddy, director, Ministry of Coal.
The state government's observations came in response to the Centre's missive that sought the views and comments of states on the draft terms and conditions under rule 4 of the coal Mine rules 2012 for the allocation of coal blocks.
It is observed that out of the total allocated coal reserves to non-CIL companies, 86% have been allocated for captive use for specified end users and only about 14% of coal reserves to government companies for commercial mining, the Odisha government said in its letter.
As far as Odisha is concerned, Pramod Kumar Parida, additional steel and mines department, said in the letter: "The situation is still worse."
Out of total allocated coal reserve of 15,212 MT to non-CIL companies in Odisha coal fields, 94.2% of the allocated coal reserve are meant for captive use of the coal for specified end users, it said.
"Companies allocated coal blocks for captive use in specified end-users get double benefits of assured coal supply and at a less price, whereas others, not allocated coal blocks are put in a disadvantageous position," the letter said.
