Industry & Economy
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Coal
Allow private players in coal mining, divest sick CIL arms
Our Bureau
New Delhi, July 2 The Economic Survey has made a strong pitch for the entry of private players in the coal mining sector to help reverse the substitution of domestic coal by imported oil and coal. It has also suggested the listing of Coal India Ltd’s two sick subsidiaries — Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) — by divesting 49 per cent Government stake in the companies.
“The two sick subsidiaries of Coal India (CIL), namely ECL and BCCL, should be listed; 49 per cent of shares sold to public and management control transferred to a private party (perhaps through an auction of 26 per cent of shares plus management control package),” the survey tabled in Parliament said. The suggestion to revive the two firms by such measures comes at a time when the Government is considering divesting up to 10 per cent of its stake in the country’s largest coal producer, CIL.
Eastern Coalfields, which operates 110 mines mostly in West Bengal and Jharkhand, has an estimated reserve of 40 billion tonnes. It aims to produce 31 million tonnes of coal this fiscal from 28 million tonnes last fiscal. BCCL with 78 mines has an annual production capacity of about 20 million tonnes.
Out of the eight coal producing subsidiaries of CIL, five have already been granted ‘mini ratna’ status, thereby giving them a free hand under an investment worth Rs 500 crore. However, the two sick companies have been kept out of the purview as of now.
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