Private companies failing to develop coal blocks awarded because of
alleged political patronage is only one part of the story. The other side is the failure of various
government-run companies in developing blocks allocated to them. This aspect of the coal drama is set to unfold on October 9 and 10, when the interministerial group (IMG) is scheduled to hear the public sector companies' answers to showcause notices issued by the coal ministry issued in May.
A study of the notices for 31 blocks that are under scanner reveals that the public sector undertakings (PSUs) have been as ineffective as private companies in developing the blocks if not more.
PSUs from Jharkhand have fared the worst. The Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation (JSMDC) was allocated nine blocks, individually as well as jointly, between 2006 and 2008, but it has been able to show satisfactory progress in only one. The ministry has issued show-cause notices to the JSMDC for eight blocks.
For instance, one of the notices which asks the JSMDC to explain the delay in developing the Rauta closed mine and Burakhaph small-patch mine reveals that the firm has missed deadlines for targets such as the submission of mining plan by over three years and the applications for forest and environmental clearances by more than two years.
Two other Jharkhand PSUs- the Jharkhand State Electricity Board and the Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd-have been issued notices for a block each. Another PSU that will be facing the heat during the IMG meeting next month is the West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation (WBMDTC), which has been issued show-cause notices for making inadequate progress in five out of the six coal blocks that had been allocated to it between 2005 and 2007.
Similarly, the Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd hasn't been able to develop all three blocks allocated to it, including one which was given as early as 2003. The Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation too has been issued notices for three mines out of a total of five that had been allocated to it.
Mail Today had already reported on September 24 that the Naini block in Chhattisgarh, which had been allocated to the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation and the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited, faces a threat of deallocation.
A number of state electricity boards-Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jharkhand- figure prominently among the companies who have been asked to furnish explanations on October 9 and 10.
"The failure of state electricity boards and other companies who had been allocated coal blocks with the end-use of power has contributed to the power crisis in the country," said a coal ministry official. "One must recall that these blocks were allocated to meet the increasing demand for electricity," he added.
It must be recalled that Union power minister Veerappa Moily had asserted that the deallocated blocks will be reallocated to meet the country's energy needs. But the poor performance of the state electricity boards is likely to complicate the process of reallocation of blocks.
Courtesy: Mail Today
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