Absence of rail link costs Coal India 100-mt output a year
4 Dec 2012 5:13 AM IST
Railways' failure to provide connectivity to mines even after receiving Rs 300 crore from Coal India is causing annual production loss of 100 million tonne (mt) of coal, CIL Chairman S Narsing Rao said on Sunday. The production loss resulting from lack of railway connectivity is equivalent to about one-fourth of the CIL's total annual output.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) had paid to the Railways Rs 150 crore each for providing link to its North Karanpura coalfield in Jharkhand and Ib Valley coalfield in Odisha. 'Coal India had taken initiative 10 years ago, going on and on. We have paid Rs 150 crore to the Railways for Jharkhand and Rs 150 crore for Ib Valley. Nobody is saying about that. They are not doing any charity. We are funding 100 per cent. I am in a position to produce coal – 100 mt (per annum). My plans are ready, clearances are there, projects are ready, but I have no rail connectivity to transport,' Rao said.
CIL with an annual production of 435 mt has faced criticism from power producers and the industry for not meeting the fuel requirements. Rao said as per agreement with the Railways both the projects are being built through 100 per cent funding by CIL but there was little progress on these.
'Both the consumers and the government should be asking them (Railways) why these railway tracks are not coming over when particularly Coal India is willing to even pay 100 per cent not even one rupee less,' he said.
Coal India is the near-monopoly producer of coal, accounting for 84 per cent of the domestic output. It has fallen short of production target by 11 mt. CIL chief said as per original plans, rail project for North Karanpura coalfield, work on which had started in 1999, was scheduled for completion in 2005. But only half of the project would be completed by March, 2015.Likewise, the Ib Valley project in Odisha should have been completed in 2009, Rao said. 'Coal India has taken initiative 10 years ago. Anybody's guess when it will be ready,' Rao questioned.
Rao said that it was useless to resort to production there saying 'that level of volume, you cannot transport it by road'. Earlier, the world's largest coal miner had said that it is looking at spending Rs 14,500 crore to augment rail infrastructure during the 12th Five Plan (2012-17).
'We plan to spend Rs 7,500 crore on rail infrastructure, provided the Railways complete the project on time. We intend to spend another Rs 7,000 crore on rail projects for faster transportation of coal if all goes well,' Rao had said.
The coal PSU is sitting on a cash reserve of Rs 61,000 crore. Earlier, Coal Ministry had cautioned that nearly 290 mt of coal could face evacuation problem during 12th Plan in North Karanpura, Mand Raigarh and Ib and Talcher coal mines in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in absence of rail link.
The Railway Board and CIL had held several meetings on these projects. 'I have escalated the issue to the highest possible level,' Rao said, adding, 'but to no avail'. CIL, battling low production, had achieved only 435.84 mt output in 2011-12 against the target of 447 mt. It has set a production target of 464 mt for the current financial year.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) had paid to the Railways Rs 150 crore each for providing link to its North Karanpura coalfield in Jharkhand and Ib Valley coalfield in Odisha. 'Coal India had taken initiative 10 years ago, going on and on. We have paid Rs 150 crore to the Railways for Jharkhand and Rs 150 crore for Ib Valley. Nobody is saying about that. They are not doing any charity. We are funding 100 per cent. I am in a position to produce coal – 100 mt (per annum). My plans are ready, clearances are there, projects are ready, but I have no rail connectivity to transport,' Rao said.
CIL with an annual production of 435 mt has faced criticism from power producers and the industry for not meeting the fuel requirements. Rao said as per agreement with the Railways both the projects are being built through 100 per cent funding by CIL but there was little progress on these.
'Both the consumers and the government should be asking them (Railways) why these railway tracks are not coming over when particularly Coal India is willing to even pay 100 per cent not even one rupee less,' he said.
Coal India is the near-monopoly producer of coal, accounting for 84 per cent of the domestic output. It has fallen short of production target by 11 mt. CIL chief said as per original plans, rail project for North Karanpura coalfield, work on which had started in 1999, was scheduled for completion in 2005. But only half of the project would be completed by March, 2015.Likewise, the Ib Valley project in Odisha should have been completed in 2009, Rao said. 'Coal India has taken initiative 10 years ago. Anybody's guess when it will be ready,' Rao questioned.
Rao said that it was useless to resort to production there saying 'that level of volume, you cannot transport it by road'. Earlier, the world's largest coal miner had said that it is looking at spending Rs 14,500 crore to augment rail infrastructure during the 12th Five Plan (2012-17).
'We plan to spend Rs 7,500 crore on rail infrastructure, provided the Railways complete the project on time. We intend to spend another Rs 7,000 crore on rail projects for faster transportation of coal if all goes well,' Rao had said.
The coal PSU is sitting on a cash reserve of Rs 61,000 crore. Earlier, Coal Ministry had cautioned that nearly 290 mt of coal could face evacuation problem during 12th Plan in North Karanpura, Mand Raigarh and Ib and Talcher coal mines in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in absence of rail link.
The Railway Board and CIL had held several meetings on these projects. 'I have escalated the issue to the highest possible level,' Rao said, adding, 'but to no avail'. CIL, battling low production, had achieved only 435.84 mt output in 2011-12 against the target of 447 mt. It has set a production target of 464 mt for the current financial year.
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