(a) whether the Government proposes to privatise the production of coal in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps taken to secure the interest of the stakeholders in privatisation environment?
MINISTER OFSTATE (IC) IN THE MINISTRY OF COAL, POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a)to (c): As per Section 3(3)(a)(iii) of the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973, a private company was allowed to carry out coal mining operations, for specified end use (captive use) only and the coal so mined was not allowed for sale. Further, in order to overcome acute shortage of coal in the country and augment its production, the Coal Mines (Special Provisions)Act, 2015 was enacted on 30.03.2015. The Act also amended the provisions of some existing Acts by inserting Section 3(A) in the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 and by amending Section 11(A) of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 thereby removing the restriction of end use from the eligibility to undertake coal mining, in the national interest to mitigate the hardships on household consumers, medium and small enterprises, cottage industries as well as to overcome the overall shortage of coal in the country.