Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy today held a meeting with the officials of the Coal Ministry in New Delhi to review the management of captive and commercial coal blocks. During the meeting, the minister stressed upon close coordination with all the stakeholders including the State Government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to expedite clearances for operationalizing allocated coal blocks in the shortest possible time.
Highlighting the need for higher production of coal to reduce imports to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta in coal’, the Minister directed the reinforcement of institutional capabilities at the state level.
So far, the Ministry of Coal has auctioned 161 coal mines with peak peak-rated capacity of 575 metric tonnes. Out of which 58 mines have received mine opening permission and 54 mines are in operation. Last year these mines produced a total of 147 metric tonnes of coal, which constitutes 15% of the total coal production of the country.
