Standing Committee urges to bring objectivity, transparency in mines allocation procedure

23 Dec 2014 Evaluate

A report of the Standing Committee on Coal and Steel, tabled in the parliament, pointed that there was a serious requirement to bring objectivity and transparency in allocating mines in the wake of Supreme Court's cancelling 204 coal blocks. Back in September, the Supreme Court quashed allocation of 204 out of 218 coal blocks allotted to various companies since 1993 terming it as fatally flawed.

Further, the panel, in its report, expressed concerns over rising imports for meeting the gap in supply and demand for domestic coal. Besides, it highlighted the importance of ensuring a sustainable increase in domestic production commensurate with growing domestic demand. With reports suggesting of coal imports likely touching 185 MT in 2016-17, the Committee expressed concerns over increasing financial burden on the exchequer and urged the government to seriously address various constraints impeding off-take of domestic production and capacity expansion.

The Committee in its report also emphasized upon the strategic importance of coal in the country's energy security with over 50% of the primary energy supply and over 70% of coal production/ supply going for power generation. The country imported 168.4 MT of coal in 2013-14 and 145.8 MT in 2012-13.

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