“IT’S NOT THE PM’S JOB TO CHECK THE WEALTH OF EACH ALLOTTEE”

The Coal Ministry has been in the news for all the wrong reasons – from the CAG report criticising the allocation process of captive mines to low production by Coal India Ltd (CIL). Coal Minister SRIPRAKASH JAISWAL spoke to SEBASTIAN P.T. on these and other issues. Edited excerpts:

You have repeatedly said that the coal allocation policy was perfect. If so, why were so many flaws discovered by the CAG?

The Prime Minister’s job is to formulate a policy and develop the best mechanism to implement it. It is not his job to find out about the wealth of each allottee. That is the job of state-level officials or of the Screening Committee. The Prime Minister formulated a cent per cent correct policy. There was no better mechanism for implementation than the Screening Committee, as the coal secretary headed it and secretaries of different ministries, as well as state chief secretaries were part of it.

I do not accept the premise of the CAG. The comparison of mines belonging to CIL with that of the allocated coal mines is not appropriate. The geo-mining conditions of the mines vary. Coal may be available at 100 feet in one mine while in another it may be 500 feet. Besides, some mines are in the interiors or tense (Naxal) areas. CIL operates in easy areas.

But most allocated mines have not started production…

Starting a mine is not akin to starting a restaurant. There is a minimum gestation period. Many are yet to receive forest and environment clearances or are stuck with land acquisition problems. Some mines are in areas where law and order is a problem. But there are some instances of companies deliberately not starting production. The Inter-Ministerial Group is looking into the issue. I have asked it to submit its report by the middle of September. Appropriate action will be taken.

How do you plan to increase coal production? The increase in production by CIL during the 11th Plan was not satisfactory…

Coal India will increase production by seven per cent this fiscal. There is no possibility of production going up drastically in the near future as the public sector company is facing many problems.

When the Inter-Ministerial Group de-allocates mines, these are expected to go back to CIL. Power, steel and cement companies fear costs will go up given CIL’s past record on coal production…

A decision on what should be done with the mines, if they are to be de-allocated, will be taken only after the report is submitted. Also, companies that have received the coal blocks should start operating them. Companies should not be too dependent on CIL.

Will public-private partnerships be one of the options in developing coal mines?

We shall decide on that later.