Coal shortage in the country is likely to double in the next five years, from 125 million tonnes at present, if steps are not taken soon to
ramp up production, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Sunday said.
"The shortage could be around 250-300 million tonnes annually," he told reporters in Kanpur before embarking on a 10-day visit to Poland, Czech Republic and Belarus to study modern methods and technologies used in underground mining.
Jaiswal, who is leading a six-member delegation, said the difficulties involved in getting a go-ahead for coal mining projects from the Ministry of Environment and Forests would be eliminated once we adopt these modern methodologies.
He hoped the
Empowered Group of Ministers set up to address the above issue will come up with a solution soon. At present, coal is supplied to the country's power and heavy industries sectors.
However, to bridge the demand-supply gap arising due a shortage of 125 million tonnes of coal every year, it is imported. As the cost of imported coal is quite high, it cannot be used in the power production to avoid making electricity for consumers expensive.
Other members of the delegation include
Coal India's acting chairman N C Jha, Chairman of Neyveli Lignite Corporation A R Ansari and senior officials of the coal ministry.
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