The inability to acquire land needed for commencing projects and lack of environment and forest clearances have made production plans go awry
The 435-million tonne target set by Coal India in its annual action plan for 2009-10 has come under threat. As per figures available till December 2009, production shortfalls have been recorded in at least three of its subsidiaries, some of which account for the highest quantum of the output. The companies where production shortfall has been recorded are: Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL). All efforts were now geared towards making good the shortfall.
Law and order problems leading to frequent stoppage in transportation, villagers demanding employment beyond the resettlement norms, frequent bandhs called by ultra-left extremists and electioneering are said to be major factors that have led to the shortfall in production which became pronounced during the October-December quarter. Jharkhand, where CCL is headquartered, faced two rounds of voting, the Lok Sabha polls in May and the Assembly polls in November, led to drafting of colliery manpower as well as transport vehicles.
Elsewhere, inability to acquire land needed for commencing projects and lack of environment and forest clearances have made production plans go awry.
When contacted, CIL Chairman PS Bhattacharyya confirmed the shortfall but said all efforts were now geared towards making good the shortfall suffered during the January to March quarter. “The situation is being reviewed area-wise, wherever possible, speedy decision was being taken on a war-footing on issues such as residual purchase of equipment so that the target is met.”
These measures have already started yielding results. Production during the first 10 days of January has been good and CIL and its subsidiaries are expected to sustain this tempo. The 9.9 per cent growth rate achieved during the first half of 2009-10, when incremental production stood at 16.88 million tonnes against the 31.27 million tonnes needed for the entire year, has given ground to optimism to surmount the odds and close in on the target. Enquiries revealed that along with extraneous factors, problems regarding supply and the quality of heavy earth moving equipment (HEMM) have also constrained production.
Available figures show that between April and December 2009, the seven subsidiaries of CIL produced around 296 million tonnes against 275 million tonnes in the same period in 2008-09. While underground production has been lower than in the same period in 2008-09, opencast production has increased. The shortfall in underground production has been the sharpest.
The 435-million tonne target set by Coal India in its annual action plan for 2009-10 has come under threat. As per figures available till December 2009, production shortfalls have been recorded in at least three of its subsidiaries, some of which account for the highest quantum of the output. The companies where production shortfall has been recorded are: Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL). All efforts were now geared towards making good the shortfall.
Law and order problems leading to frequent stoppage in transportation, villagers demanding employment beyond the resettlement norms, frequent bandhs called by ultra-left extremists and electioneering are said to be major factors that have led to the shortfall in production which became pronounced during the October-December quarter. Jharkhand, where CCL is headquartered, faced two rounds of voting, the Lok Sabha polls in May and the Assembly polls in November, led to drafting of colliery manpower as well as transport vehicles.
Elsewhere, inability to acquire land needed for commencing projects and lack of environment and forest clearances have made production plans go awry.
When contacted, CIL Chairman PS Bhattacharyya confirmed the shortfall but said all efforts were now geared towards making good the shortfall suffered during the January to March quarter. “The situation is being reviewed area-wise, wherever possible, speedy decision was being taken on a war-footing on issues such as residual purchase of equipment so that the target is met.”
These measures have already started yielding results. Production during the first 10 days of January has been good and CIL and its subsidiaries are expected to sustain this tempo. The 9.9 per cent growth rate achieved during the first half of 2009-10, when incremental production stood at 16.88 million tonnes against the 31.27 million tonnes needed for the entire year, has given ground to optimism to surmount the odds and close in on the target. Enquiries revealed that along with extraneous factors, problems regarding supply and the quality of heavy earth moving equipment (HEMM) have also constrained production.
Available figures show that between April and December 2009, the seven subsidiaries of CIL produced around 296 million tonnes against 275 million tonnes in the same period in 2008-09. While underground production has been lower than in the same period in 2008-09, opencast production has increased. The shortfall in underground production has been the sharpest.
Next Story
