(a) Whether the Government has set up any Committee to
review regular supply of coal to the thermal power
stations in the country;
(b) If so, the details thereof;
(c) Whether any difficulty has been encounted in
ensuring supply of coal to thermal power stations during
the last three years ;
(d) If so, the reasons therefor; and
(e) The remedial measures taken by the Government in
this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL (DR. DASARI NARAYANA RAO)
(a)&(b): Yes, Sir. The supply of coal to thermal power
stations is reviewed by the Standing Linkage Committee
(Short-term), an inter-ministerial body, under the
Chairmanship of Additional Secretary(Coal), which decides
allocation of coal on quarterly basis. There is also a sub-
group under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Coal)
comprising of the representative of Ministry of Power,
Railways and Central Electricity Authority to monitor supply
of coal to various power stations and decide allocation
of coal based on requirement of these power stations.
(c) to (e): The supply of coal to power plants is
maintained as per Annual Plan target. However, some times
supplies get affected due to factors like unloading
constraints at power house end, blockage of railway line
due to accidents/floods, local problems in mining areas
etc. The sub-group takes corrective action to ensure
restoration of coal supplies at the earliest.