Saturday is the last chance for companies owning 28 odd captive coal blocks to defend themselves before the inter-ministerial group (IMG), reviewing the mines, and prevent the blocks from getting de-allocated.
A bunch of private companies including Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power, Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Steel Power Ltd, Tata Group’s Tata Sponge Iron Ltd, Brij Bhushan Singhal’s Bhushan Steel & Strips Ltd, GVK Group’s GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd, L.N. Mittal’s Arcelor Mittal India Ltd and Bhaskar Group’s DB Power Ltd, presented their case on Friday.
Voicing views similar to the companies which submitted before the IMG on September 3, these entities also blamed delays in obtaining environmental and forest clearances, and land acquisitions for preventing them from exploiting the mines.
Reliance Power Ltd told the IMG that it has exploited mines attached to its Sasan Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) ahead of schedule.
What is interesting is that on September 3, while IMG was hearing the affected companies, Reliance Power announced coal production from mines at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh. The Sasan project was awarded to the company in 2008 and scheduled commissioning was 2013.
The announcement also came close on the heels of the Government reviewing captive mine for de-allocation, CAG questioning allocation of Chhatrasal to Sasan UMPP and CBI cracking down on companies for providing false information while applying for captive mines.
There will be annual production of 20 million tonnes from the Moher and Moher-Amlohri coal mines associated with the Sasan project, the company had said.
“We have informed the IMG that coal production at Moher and Moher-Amlori Extension coal block has already commenced. We have also told them that the coal production has started ahead of schedule,” J.P. Chalasani, Reliance Power’s Chief Executive Officer, told media persons after meeting the panel.
Neeraj Singal, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Bhushan Steel, said that the company expects to commence production from its Patrapara block in Orissa in 2013-14. The company was allotted the block, with 21.35 million tonnes reserves for sponge-iron unit, in January 2006.
Krishna Ram Bhupal, Managing Director, GVK Power and Infrastructure, said that it would take another 3-4 years for production to begin from the Seregarha block in Jharkhand (allocated in January 2008). The captive mine was allocated for supplying fuel to 540 MW Govindwal Sahib power plant.
Ujjwal Chatterjee, Chief Operating Officer of Tata Sponge, said environment and forest clearances are the major hurdles in developing coal mines. Radhikapur (East) coal block in Talcher, Orissa has been allocated to the company.
Chatterjee said that the company would begin production from the block in the next 18 months.
The IMG, headed by Additional Secretary at Coal Ministry Zohra Chatterji would meet more captive mine owners on Saturday before firming up their decision for de-allocation. The IMG is expected to submit the report to Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal by September 15.