Hyderabad, Apr 21 (TNT) : Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy on Tuesday directed all government coal companies to remain competitive by ensuring quality and reducing production costs, in line with India’s push towards energy self-reliance.
Reviewing the performance of coal companies across the country through a video conference from New Delhi, Kishan Reddy said coal should be marketed at competitive prices while maintaining quality standards under the proposed Coal Exchange mechanism.
He said the new coal sale framework would enable consumers to procure coal of their preferred grade from suppliers of their choice, thereby increasing competition.
In such a scenario, maintaining quality would be critical for government companies to sustain their market presence, he added.
Reviewing the performance of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), he advised the company to focus on supplying quality coal at competitive prices and to achieve targets set for new mining projects.
SCCL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Dr. Buddhaprakash Jyoti, who participated in the review from Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad, said efforts were underway to secure approvals for five new opencast projects during the year, including JK OC at Yellandu, Manuguru OC Extension, Ramagundam OC-1 Phase-III, Goleti OC and RK OC project.
He said these projects require forest and environmental clearances, while approvals for non-forest land are pending for seven other projects.
He further said SCCL is taking measures to supply higher-quality coal and increase dispatches to avoid stock accumulation during the summer season.
He also pointed out that non-availability of compensatory afforestation land is a constraint and sought CPSU status for early grounding of new projects.
Senior officials including Directors for Operations, Planning & Projects, and E&M, along with other key executives, participated in the review meeting from Hyderabad.
TNT TS
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