• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Single-window clearance for captive coal mining likely

Ambarish Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, May 27

DESPITE the Government's declared intention of promoting captive coal mining by companies engaged in the field of power generation and manufacturing cement and steel, 18 proposals submitted by 17 major companies are pending approval for more than a year.

To streamline the functioning and speedy disposal of applications, the Ministry of Coal is planning to work out a single-window clearing concept for captive mining of coal blocks by companies engaged in these three industries.

The companies awaiting nod include corporate majors such as the Tatas and Birlas as well as public sector undertakings such as the Punjab State Electricity Board and West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd.

The 17 companies which have submitted their proposals during the past one year but have not yet been taken up by the Government for consideration are: Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd (Tata Steel), Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd of the Aditya Birla group, Jayaswal Neco Ltd, Shree Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan Ltd, Navbharat Coalfields Pvt Ltd, Central Utilities and Investments Ltd, Lemos Cements Ltd, Punjab State Electricity Board, Corporate Ispat Alloys Ltd, Maithon Right Bank Thermal Pow er Project of the Damodar Valley Corporation, Abhijeet Iron Processors Pvt Ltd, Sun Flag Iron & Steel Company Ltd, GVK Power (Govindwal Sahib) Ltd, CESC Ltd of the Rama Prasad Goenka group, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd and two proposals of the Indian Aluminium Company Ltd.

The screening committee of the Ministry of Coal, which approves allotment of blocks for captive mining in these three sectors, last met in March 2000, though it is supposed to hold a meeting each month to decide on proposals submitted by the companies.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on coal has also pulled up the Ministry for such delay.

According to the Ministry, the complicated composition of the screening committee for approval of such blocks is the major stumbling block for the delay.

The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Coal is the Chairman of the committee. Members include Coal India Ltd's (CIL) Chairman/Director (Technical), chairman and managing directors of the subsidiaries of CIL, joint secretaries of the Ministries of po wer, industry and steel and principal secretaries of the State Governments.