In a move to set-up a regulatory authority for the coal sector, which is hanging in limbo for close to a year now, is likely to arrive at a conclusion. Coal Minister S Jaiswal said, the recommendations of Group of Ministers (GoM) for setting up an independent regulatory authority for the coal sector are expected shortly.
Currently, a lot of coal projects have been blocked for long due to various reasons including delays in environment clearances among others. An independent regulator for the sector is considered important for fixing guidelines for price revision, improving competitiveness in the e-auctions, setting trading margins and increasing transparency in the allocation of reserves.
The proposal to set up regulatory authority was considered by the Cabinet last year and referred to the GoM that is headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. However, the last meeting of GoM remained inconclusive as there were differing opinions among members on certain issues, including the pricing of coal.
