(a) whether the country is not able to achieve the targeted production of coal due to road and rail related infrastructural bottlenecks;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether imports are increasing as a result of the infrastructural bottlenecks in the country;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps being taken /proposed to be taken by the Union Government to remove the infrastructural bottlenecks in the country?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR COAL, POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a)&(b): With present level of production, rail and road infrastructure for the speedy and timely transportation of coal in various coalfields is adequate. However keeping in view the future programme of coal production, action has been taken to improve the road related infrastructure like conversion of fair weather road to all weather roads, widening & strengthening of existing road, construction of new roads etc. for speedy and timely transportation of coal. Further, Coal India Limited (CIL) has taken up three mega rail infrastructure projects in the upcoming coalfields that shall help develop, produce & evacuate coal from these coalfields.
(c)&(d): On account of increased production in 2015-16, coal imports have fallen from 217.78 Mte in 2014-15 to 199.88 Mte in 2015-16. As per the current import policy, coal is kept under Open General License (OGL) and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice as per their contractual prices on payment of applicable duty. However, as gathered from secondary sources, coal imports in the country can be attributed primarily to location-based cost economics in coastal & hinterland locations of the country apart from limited availability of requisite quality of indigenous coking coal.
(e): A Central Sector Scheme ‘Development of Transport infrastructure in Coalfield Areas’ under Ministry of Coal is being operated to improve road conditions in coal mining areas. Further CIL has taken up three major rail projects viz Tori-Shivpur-Kathotia project in Jharkhand, Jharsuguda- Barpali project in Odisha and East Rail Corridor & East-West Rail Corridor in Chhattisgarh to evacuate coal from upcoming coalfields.
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