Coal India not to blame for power sector's woes, says chairman

Coal India is trying to produce as much as it can given the hurdles it faces - land acquisition, delays in getting regulatory approvals, environmental clearances and lack of rail transport from the areas of production to power companies across the country - and the government cannot blame the company for the supply shortages being faced by power companies, NC Jha, chairman and managing director of Coal India, said in an interview to Business Standard.

Coal India has been facing intense criticism for failing to keep up with its production targets at a time of acute coal shortages and when most power plants are grappling with critical levels of coal inventories. The company had a production target of 447 million tonnes for this year (ending March 2012) but had to revise it lower to 440 million tonnes because of several issues.

Jha also lashed out at the power industry, saying that CIL had supplied 91 percent of the annual contracted quantity of coal to the sector for the financial year ending March 2012 and that “it was the power sector’s lookout if they are not able to meet generation targets”.

[caption id=“attachment_183209” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Coal India is trying to produce as much as it can given the hurdles it faces, said its chairman NC Jha.”] [/caption]

In the_Business Standard_interview, he even hit out at the government,saying 90 percent of Coal India’s production came from open-cast mines, which required digging earth, and therefore, required mining rights.“If coal-bearing land is not given to us, from where would coal be produced? Forest clearances cause delays. Newer terms and conditions are being imposed every time a proposal is taken up,” he pointed out.

Even the coal that is being produced is not being transported to the areas it is required because of a lack of rail infrastructure, which is the responsibility of the government. “We cannot create rail infrastructure for the entire country. These issues have to be solved at the national level.”

For the entire interview, click here .