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In a bid to resolve the environmental issues affecting the coal sector, the Environment Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, met the Coal Minister, Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, on Tuesday. Both ministers have agreed to expedite the coal sector projects, sources in the Coal Ministry said.
“We have arrived at a consensus on many issues and are hopeful of resolving majority of them ahead of the Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting,” said Mr Jaiswal. Both ministers are expected to meet again on Thursday.
To frame guidelines
A GoM, under the leadership of the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, has been set up to frame guidelines for coal mining in the forest areas. Last year, the Environment Ministry had classified nine major coalfields as ‘Go' and ‘No Go' areas depending on the forest cover on such areas. Coal mining was restricted in the ‘No Go' areas by the Environment Ministry.
Restricting mining in such coalfields is seen impacting the coal output resulting in a widening demand-supply gap. The Coal Ministry has estimated the demand-supply gap at 142 million tonnes next fiscal from 84 million tonnes in the current.
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