Question : PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN COAL SECTOR

(a) the policy of the Government with regard to the mining and exploration of coal at present;

(b) the reasons for taking the decision to privatise the coal industry;

(c) whether this decision has been criticised widely;

(d) if so, whether the workers in various coal mines have been on strike on the issue of privatisation of coal mines;

(e) the production and monetary losses suffered by the Government as a result thereof; and

(f) the corrective steps being taken by the Government to upgrade the coal sector?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL (SHRI SYED SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN)

(a) to (f) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

Statement referred to in the answer to parts (a) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No.7 for 20.02.2001

(a) & (b) Private coal mines were nationalized in 1972 and
1973 in order to augment coal production in the country by
adopting advanced mining technology. In 1993, private
sector participation in coal mining was allowed by allowing
coal mining for captive use by companies engaged in
production of iron & steel, power generation and washing of
coal obtained from a mine. Later on, companies engaged in
cement production were also allowed coal mining for their
captive use.
Recent assessment about the demand and supply position
of coal over the next decade made by the Planning Commission
and the Ministry of Coal shows a gap of 41.94 million
tonnes, 162.28 million tonnes and 260.30 million tonnes
during 2001-02, 2006-07 and 2011-12 respectively. Public
sector alone will not be able to mobilize adequate resources
to step up coal production to meet the ever increasing
demand. The Central Government has, therefore, decided
to allow Indian companies to do coal mining without the
restriction of captive consumption, and to engage in
exploration of coal, subject to appropriate legislative
changes.

(c) to (e) Some trade union organisations have been
opposing the opening up of various areas of national
economy, including coal, to the private sector. The All
India Workers’ Federation, a trade union organisation
affiliated to CITU, went on strike from 20th November, 2000
to 22nd November,2000 in support of a number of demands
which included opposition to the private sector’s entry in
coal mining . The production losses of coal and monetary
loss, suffered by the subsidiary companies of Coal India
Limited due to the above strike were 7.5 lakh tonnes and Rs.
36 crores (approximately) respectively.
(f) The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2000
has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha, which seeks to allow
Indian companies to undertake non-captive coal mining in the
new blocks of coal and lignite and also exploration of coal
and lignite resources. The amendments are necessary for
augmentation of coal production in the country in order to
bridge the gap between the demand and supply of coal at the
end of X and XI Plan periods. The steps taken to upgrade
the coal sector include measures for improvement in
productivity, capacity utilisation, quality enhancement and
consumer satisfaction.