Govt reviews status of commercial, captive coal mines; urges allottees to increase production

The coal ministry on January 4 reviewed the status of commercial and captive coal blocks that have already started production as well as those which are expected to commence production. During a high level meeting to review the status of 'producing and expected to produce' captive and commercial coal mines, Additional Secretary at the ministry M Nagaraju also urged the allottees to put in further efforts to achieve the committed coal output target for the current fiscal, an official statement said.

As of December, 50 captive and commercial coal mines were under production. According to the statement, Nagaraju also "impressed upon the allottees to take necessary steps to operationalise the coal blocks that are in advanced stages of operationalisation".

Within three-and-a-half years of commencing commercial coal mines auction in 2020, 6 mines with a cumulative Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of 14.87 million tonnes (MT) have already started production. In December 2023, the total coal production from captive and commercial coal mines rose 38 per cent to 14.04 MT compared to the year-ago period.

"The total coal production from captive and commercial coal mines during the period April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 was around 98 MT while the total coal dispatch was 103 MT, indicating a Y-o-Y growth of 26 per cent and 32 per cent respectively, from the same period of 2022-23," the statement said. The ministry also said it is committed to maintaining this momentum, striving to achieve ambitious production and dispatch targets.