The coal sector in the country is facing a demand-supply gap that needs to be bridged quickly, says Coal Secretary Sumanta Chaudhuri.

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In the previous year, the production of coal in the country was 730 million tonnes out of which Coal India produced around 608 million tonnes.

“Last year, the growth was about 7 percent, which is certainly faster than the rate of growth in many other sectors including power, but we still have a demand-supply gap,” Chaudhuri told CNBC-TV18.

It may be noted that Power Secretary SC Garg also has stressed the need to award five coal blocks to big private companies and raise production to reduce imports.

There are three main players in coal production; the first is Coal India, second is Singareni Collieries Company, a state PSU, and third, the production from mines.

“One of our problems is the long time to operationalise coal mines. If production had started at coal mines as per the allotment agreements, at least 40-50 million tonne would have been added,” Chaudhuri noted.

Coal India's rate of growth is about 5 percent. It is targeting a growth rate of about 7.5 percent.

“The memorandum of understanding target for Coal India this year is 660 million tonne, which is an incremental growth of about 53 million tonne,” added Chaudhuri.

Talking about commercial mining, the secretary said: “We have already come out with a list of 42 mines; 27 for auction and 15 for allotment where the cabinet decision made in February 2019 of allowing 25 percent sale of coal in the open market, without any restrictions, has been implemented.”

The government expects commercial mining to pick up steam post November 2019.

First Published:Aug 28, 2019 1:42 PM IST