Indian Parliament Gets Tough on Delayed Coal Mining Approvals

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Regulatory clearances and delays in environmental approvals are currently stalling 233 coal production projects for Coal India Limited (CIL) (Kolkata, West Bengal). The situation has caused a panel of the federal parliament to express anguish and suggest that the country's coal ministry should look for a solution by forcefully placing the matter before a ministerial group and to hold consultations at the highest level to expedite clearances.

For further information see August 29, 2011, article - India Hits 181,000 Megawatt Capacity, but Problems Still Hinder Targeted Additions.

The standing committee on coal and steel reported that 120 projects are pending for Stage I forestry clearance, 54 projects for Stage II forestry clearance and 14 projects are pending for environmental clearance. The committee also pointed out that another 20 projects are waiting for environmental appraisal. Clearances that normally should have been granted in a three-month period are now taking almost five years.

The panel reported that if measures are not taken to address the issues hurting coal production, the nation will be heading for an energy crisis. The coal and lignite sectors will be affected adversely if the situation continues.

Touching on the fraught topic of dysfunctional communications between ministries and stakeholders in the coal sector, the panel directed the coal ministry to take the matter up with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to resolve the contentious issue of "go" and "no go" on project approvals and to present views forcefully to the Group of Ministers (GoM) to hammer out a permanent solution.

In February this year, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the formation of the GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to sort out the issues hurting coal production. The two ministries had been in contention since the MoEF classified 203 coal blocks as "no go" areas in 2009 and prohibited mining operations.

The coal demand-supply gap is forecast to reach 142 million tons in the current fiscal year, strengthening stakeholders' resolve to find an effective solution to the project approvals bottleneck.

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