Coal blocks allocated to Public and Private Sector

Coal blocks allocated to Public and Private Sector

The Government has identified 229 coal blocks for captive end use. Out of this, a total of 208 coal blocks (including 61 coal blocks allocated to Central and State PSUs under government dispensation) with geological reserves of 48.82 billion tonnes have been allocated to various public and private sector companies. The year-wise details of coal blocks allocated to public and private sector companies for captive use is given below:- Year Public Sector/State PSUs Private Sector Till 2003 14 24 2004 03 0 2005 05 16 2006 06 21 2007 04 18 2008 01 20 2009 - 14 Total 34 113 The coal blocks are allocated for captive use and the Central Government does not earn any revenue out of the allocations made. At present, allocation of coal blocks is done through the mechanism of an inter-Ministerial inter-Governmental body called the Screening Committee. The Screening Committee is chaired by the Secretary (Coal) and has representation from Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Coal India Limited (CIL), Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd. (CMPDIL) and the concerned State Governments. The application is received from the applicant in the Ministry of Coal along with its enclosures and is then sent to the concerned administrative Ministry as well as to the State Governments for their scrutiny and recommendations. It is also sent to CIL/CMPDIL for their scrutiny and recommendations. In the Screening Committee, the applicant is given an opportunity to present his case before the Screening Committee. Allocation of coal block is decided on merits through consultation/discussions in the Screening Committee. Guidelines for allocation of coal blocks both for the use of the Screening Committee and guidance to the applicants have been framed and necessary changes are made in the same from time to time based on the experience gained and the suggestions of the Screening Committee. The same are displayed on the website of the Ministry of Coal. As on date, 26 coal blocks have come into production. Allocation of coal blocks is an on-going process and as and when the coal blocks are identified and earmarked for allocation, the same are considered for allocation. This information was given by the Minister of State for Coal (Independent Charge) Shri SriprakashJaiswal, in a written reply to a question the Rajya Sabha on May 3, 2010.

Source : Energetica-India : International Magazine on Renewable & Conventional Power Generation | Transmission | Distribution