NEW DELHI, November 11, 2013. Addressing FICCI�s national conference on �Re-Energising Indian Coal Sector: Interventions through Policy, Competition and Technology�, Mr. S.K. Srivastava, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India, said, Coal India Ltd is under the process of restructuring to step up the coal production in the country. It plans to improve the production by enhancing Mining Development Operator (MDO) mode and consultations are in full swing with the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance in this regard. Also, close monitoring of the evacuation system through railways has been undertaken.

Coal India is coordinating with the Ministry of Environment and Forests besides state governments to resolve the issue of environment and forests clearances. For improved technology infrastructure and to enhance the overall efficiency of Coal India, consultants have already been hired. He also informed that 14 coal blocks have been awarded to Central and State Utilities, totaling 159 million tonnes and fuelling 30000-35000 mw.

Mr. Srivastava highlighted the critical role of coal transport infrastructure in ensuring supplies to end users. As railways, road and other means of transport are under tremendous pressure, the use of inland waterways is increasingly been seen as a cost effective and efficient mode of transport of coal to industrial users.  

He said coal mining can be categorized under four broad categories namely, environment & forest clearances, land acquisition, evacuation and coal mining. Of these, environment & forest clearances and land acquisition pose as the biggest challenges as coal reserves are confined to 7-8 states, which are densely populated.