Coal order cheer for govt

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) today reopened the window for transportation of the remaining extracted and assessed coal from Meghalaya.

Pronouncing the order after several rounds of hearings, the tribunal allowed the plea of the state government for extension of time for payment of royalty and transportation of the remaining extracted and assessed coal.

Meghalaya government's legal counsel Ranjan Mukherjee, speaking over phone from New Delhi, said the tribunal had extended the time for payment of royalty up to February 15, 2016 while the transportation would be allowed until May 15, 2016.

This is the fifth time that the tribunal has opened the transportation window since November 2014. But Mukherjee said the tribunal was explicit in stating that at the end of May 15, 2016, any quantity of coal found available would become the property of the state government.

"Nobody will have right over extracted and assessed coal, which cannot be transported at the end of May 15, 2016. The government could then auction the same," he said.

The amount of assessed coal, as submitted to the tribunal earlier, was around 87 lakh tonnes of which nearly 41 lakh tonnes had been transported. From the transported coal, the government had earned around Rs 272 crore as royalty.

Coal miners have now been given time until May 15, 2016, to transport the remaining 46 lakh tonnes. From 46 lakh tonnes, the government is expected to collect royalty of around Rs 315 crore. Moreover, Mukherjee said an assurance had been given to the tribunal that the government would ask coal miners to pay royalty on the declared coal.

Coal miners had asserted that the amount of declared coal was around 1,23,45,599 tonnes. The tribunal had earlier wanted to know the status of the 36,45,599 tonnes of coal, which is the difference between the declared coal and the assessed coal.

Mukherjee said from the 36 lakh tonnes of coal, the government is likely to earn Rs 246 crore as royalty.

As per coal transportation guidelines issued by a committee constituted by the tribunal in September 2014, royalty will be payable on the quantity of assessed/declared coal, whichever is higher.

The transport permit against this, however, will be restricted to the assessed quantity only. Coal miners who have declared an amount of coal higher than the assessed coal will be asked to pay royalty on the declared coal. This will be done at the time of issuing of chalans.

"I have submitted that royalty on the declared coal will be collected although we should have collected it earlier. We will rectify the mistake and the entire royalty will be realised," Mukherjee said.

He further said the tribunal has allowed the plea of the government to credit the crores of rupees lying in the current account of the RBI to the state treasury.

"The amount of royalty belongs to the state government. Today, the tribunal has allowed the plea to credit the amount of Rs 272 crore to the state treasury and the government can make use of the money," Mukherjee said.

However, the tribunal ordered the government not to spend a single paise from the amount collected from coal miners towards the Meghalaya Environment Protection and Restoration Fund. Nearly Rs 141 crore has so far been collected towards the fund.

On the mining guidelines, he said earlier the government had submitted the same to the Union ministry of coal and the Union ministry of environment and forests.

However, on December 7, Mukherjee said the coal ministry had written to the state government raising objections to certain guidelines, as they supposedly do not conform to statutory guidelines. "We will look into the objections raised and will resubmit the guidelines to the ministry within four weeks time, If the same are accepted, we will move the tribunal for lifting of the ban on coal mining," he said.

In April 2014, the NGT had issued an interim ban on coal mining in the state. The tribunal will again hear on the issues related to coal mining and others on February 4, 2016. Welcoming the tribunal order, Balios Swer, media relations secretary of the State Co-ordination Committee of Coal Owners, Miners and Dealers Forum, Meghalaya, said the reopening of the transportation window has offered some hope to coal miners.

Earlier, he said, the miners were facing a harrowing time due to a drop in the demand for coal produced from the state. However, he said, with the onset of the season for brick kilns, the reopening of the transportation window could rejuvenate the miners. "Meghalaya coal is best used in brick kilns located in Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat. Now, that the season for brick kilns is near, we are hopeful that our coal will find markets," Swer said.

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/