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Finance ministry to decide timing of Coal India stake sale: coal secy

The coal ministry today said the timing of stake sale in Coal India Ltd, which may fetch the exchequer about Rs 24,000 crore, will be decided by the finance ministry.

"Call on timing of CIL (Coal India Ltd) divestment will be taken by the finance ministry," coal secretary Anil Swarup told reporters here after meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Swarup further said the coal ministry has already signed an agreement with trade unions of Coal India and addressed their grievances aptly.

"There is a Committee to deal with the grievances", he said.

The coal ministry had earlier it would look into the concerns of workers and would form a committee, headed by a joint secretary, that will have representation from all five trade unions and officials of Coal India and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.

The comments by the coal secretary comes a day after the Finance Minister said the divestment programme would be pursued on priority and involve more than one PSU during this period.

There is a proposal to sell 10 percent stake in Coal India which is likely to get the government Rs 24,000 crore at current prices.

Jaitley had said that the government would sell stakes in state-owned companies before the end of the financial year in March.

Coal workers, which were protesting against disinvestment in Coal India, had last week called off their nationwide five-day strike after two days, as the government assured trade unions that the Coal India will not be privatised and the employees' interest will be protected.

The government had garnered Rs 15,000 crore from the sale of a 10 percent stake through Coal India's initial public offering (IPO) in October 2010.

Source: PTI