Coal demand during FY08 assessed at 494.5 MMT

New Delhi, May 20 (UNI) The demand for coal in the country during the current fiscal is being estimated at 494.5 million metric tonnes (MMT).

According to Coal Ministry sources, this comprises 38.04 MMT on the part of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) operating in Andhra Pradesh.

The estimated raw coal demand of 494.50 MMT in 2007-08 is planned to be met from domestic supply of 461.89 MMT, which includes domestic production of 460.50 MMT and a stock draw down of 1.39 MMT from Coal India Ltd (CIL), sources added.

This leaves a gap of 30.61 MMT which will be entirely met by proposed import of 20 MMT of coking coal for steel sector and 10.61 MMT of non-coking coal for power, cement and other sectors.

Sources said that number of steps are being initiated by the Government to increase domestic production to reduce the gap between demand and supply.

As many as 130 coal blocks have been allotted to different consumers to be operated by private/public sector for captive end uses/commercial mining. CIL has identified to take up 119 coal projects for an ultimate capacity of 256 MMT with a contribution of 111.08 MMT in 2011-12, the terminal year of XI Plan. SCCL has identified to take up 25 projects for an ultimate capacity of 43.35 MMT with a contribution of 5.75 MMT in the terminal year 2011-12 of XI Plan. Further, CIL under ''Emergency Coal Production Plan'' has identified 16 opencast projects/mines where production from the existing mines/projects will be enhanced to a higher level yielding additional 71.3 MMT.

Improvement in equipment utilisation, mechanisation/modernisation of existing mines and increasing productivity in underground and opencast mines are some of the other significant steps taken in this direction.

The total production of coal in different parts/states of the country by all coal companies during the year 2006-07 (provisional) was 430.58 MMT.

During 2006-07, highest coal production was recorded by Jharkhand with 88.78 million tonnes (MT) followed by Chhattisgarh with a production of 83.18 MT. Orissa came third with 81.16 MT.

It was followed by Madhya Pradesh with 54.73 MT, Andhra Pradesh 37.71 MT, Maharashtra with 36.22 MT , West Bengal recorded 24.94 MT, Uttar Pradesh produced 12.23 MT, Meghalaya produced 5.57 MT and Assam 1.05 MT. Jammu and Kashmir came last with the production of 0.01 MT, the sources added.

UNI