The Coal Minister, Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal, is in no mood to make any controversial statement. He is clear that whatever be the decision of the high-level ministerial panel dealing with some ticklish issues concerning his Ministry, he will stand by it.
In an interview with Business Line , the Minister reiterated that there was no immediate move to raise coal prices and if there is an increase, it will keep in view the concerns of all stakeholders.
Fuel Supply Agreement:
For power plants set up before 2015, it is Coal India's responsibility to supply coal to them at 80 per cent of requirement. Since differences on FSA continue, we have directed them to supply coal based on MoUs.
(Of the 48 FSAs to be signed, only 14 have been inked till now.)
However, once the companies have 100 per cent power purchase agreements with State distribution companies, they will sign the FSA. We are in constant discussions with the Power Ministry.
Penalty is something which, at present, has been left to Coal India. But we are aware of the concerns expressed.
Regulatory Bill:
We want to put in place an authority which will look at more optimal development and conservation of coal resources, more effective regulation of price and quality, adoption of best mining practices, better coal distribution and creation of a level playing field for new entrants in the sector.
There are several members in the Cabinet. Many of them have concerns, like the Labour Ministry, so it has been sent to a Group of Ministers. (There were also concerns on whether the issue of pricing should fall under the regulator's purview.)
The Coal Ministry would go with the GoM decision. The Ministry wants to have more transparency in the system, which is ably monitored.
Pricing:
In line with the best international coal trading practices, pricing was switched over to the Gross Calorific Value (GCV) against Useful Heat Value (UHV) based grading.
However, there was an error in assessment. When we adopted GCV, there were some mistakes in the price calculation. So, the price of some categories shot up. We received complaints. The matter was looked into and revised.
Our motive was not to increase prices. When we want to increase prices, we will do it directly and will not take shelter under any pricing mechanism. We wanted an international mechanism to be in place to prevent complaints on prices and quantity by buyers.
CAG Draft Report:
At present, we have not received any final CAG report. Our officials have responded to the queries sought by CAG.
On coal block allocation:
Till 2009-10, a total of 165 coal blocks have been allocated. Currently, 29 blocks are operational.
The motive is to mine more domestic coal and not depend on imports. If somebody, sees this in a different perspective, that is his/her view. I want to add one more thing that all blocks were awarded after consent from States. The Chief Secretaries of States are members of the screening committee.
Notice to captive mines:
We have started reviewing why only 29 blocks of the 165 could become operational till date. Strict action would be taken against companies that are deliberately not mining coal.
The Ministry has de-allocated 25 coal blocks till now. Show cause notices for de-allocation have been issued to 54 companies, advisory notices have been sent to 32 companies, and caution notices to another 28 companies.
These companies have been asked to reply within 45 days. The replies would be monitored by the screening committee and if the committee is not satisfied, the blocks would be recommended for de-allocation.
siddhartha.s@thehindu.co.in