Coal news and updates

The Supreme Court's verdict has stripped Karnataka of its lone coal block in Maharashtra.

 

The captive mines allocated by the Centre in the neighbouring state's Chandrapur are a joint venture project of the Karnataka government with a private party. With the generation of over 32 million units a day, thermal energy is crucial to meet the state's energy requirements. The 1,000 MW thermal plant at Bellary and 1,720 MW unit at Raichur depend on the coal supply from Chandrapur.

 

In the coming days, the state's coal requirement will only increase due to the ongoing (700 MW unit at Bellary and 1,600 MW plant at Yermarus) and approved projects (800 MW at Edlapur and 1,600 MW at Chhattisgarh).

 

The apex court on Wednesday quashed allocation of 214 of 218 coal blocks allotted to various companies since 1993. However, the SC's order won't adversely affect the state immediately as the apex court has given six months' breathing time to mining companies to wind up their operations.

 

"Our coal block has been cancelled. It will be taken over by Coal India after six months. And the payment of the penalty at Rs 295 per tonne (of mined coal) works out to be around Rs 400 crore,'' said Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) managing director Ritesh Kumar Singh.

 

Who pays the penalty? "The CAG report says private people have made huge profits. The spirit of the SC order is also about the persons who have benefited. In Karnataka's case, the private party had 74% stake and was 100% in charge of the operations and profits of the company. So, the private firm should pay the penalty,'' sources said.

 

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to consult the Centre and take legal opinion on the issue of penalty.

 

 

Source: ToI