Coal news and updates

Fate of coal regulator uncertain once again

August 18: The fate of the much-delayed coal regulator has become uncertain once again as the Bill introduced in the Lower House lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha, an official said.

The Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 13, 2013 after detailed consultations with various stakeholders as well as concerned ministries and departments and approval by the competent authority on June 27, 2013, the official said.

Incidentally, the idea for setting up a coal regulator was floated way back in 2007 and it was decided after discussions that the Congress-led UPA government had finally managed to place the Bill in Parliament.

“It now appears to be back to square one,” an industry official said.

It is now up to the new government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, to take a call on whether there is a need to pursue the matter.

Industry sources feel that once again placing the Bill in the Lok Sabha to get it passed does not appear to be on the priority list of the new coal minister, Piyush Goyal.

The objective of the Coal Regulator was to regulate and conserve resources in the coal sector, protect the interests of consumers and producers of coal and all matters connected therewith.

The functions of the Coal Regulatory Authority, proposed in the Bill, included:

1. Specifying the methods of testing for declaration of grades; monitoring and enforcing mine closure plans;
2. Ensuring adherence to approved mining plans;
3. Specifying principles and methodologies for price determination of raw coal, washed coal and any other by-product generated during the process of coal washing;
4. Specifying procedures for automatic coal sampling and weighment;
5. Specifying by regulations the standards of performance and norms of operational efficiency except in the area related to mines safety;
6. Adjudicating upon disputes between the parties; and

The Coal Regulatory Authority was also supposed to have an advisory role on formulation of policies in the coal sector.