The cess is expected to put additional burden on consumers. However, for funding clean technologies, the nation needs to get money from such sources.
The company’s output will not grow this fiscal and is anticipated to stay near last year’s level of 431 million tonne. We will have to pay Rs. 50 per tonne of cess,” said NC Jha, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the company, the world’s largest coal mining one.
The cess was introduced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his 2010 Budget to build a corpus for the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). This Fund was for research and innovative projects in clean technologies. During the 2011-12 budget, Mukherjee said Rs. 200 crore from the fund would be used as the Centre’s contribution for environmental remediation programmes. Another Rs. 200 crore would be used for the Green India Mission.
Though Kolkata-based CIL will not witness an increase in output, it will see nearly 15% rise in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs. 11,000 crore, as against Rs. 9,600 crore during the last financial year.
“This additional revenue will come from the recent price revision and through the extra revenue from e-auction,” said Jha, on the sidelines of a conference. “Our average premium from e-auction is 56% more than the notified price.”
Production hasn’t risen, he said, because of some environmental and some law and order problems.
“Production has dipped due to non-clearance of projects and no-go classification by the environment ministry,” he said.
The ministry of environment and forests has put nine of its coalfields under the ‘no-go’ classification, currently under ministerial review.
Coal India is negotiating 10-year contracts with overseas suppliers in an attempt to insulate Indian consumers from any volatility in global coal prices.
The company is in advanced talks with suppliers in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and the US for securing coal at 10% discount to the global benchmark price, its chairman Jha said.
“We hope to import at least half of the total contracted quantity during 2011-12, for which contracts will be signed in the next few weeks,” Jha said. “The quantity supplied in the first year will be gradually increased on the basis of the rise in domestic demand and the number of additional fuel supply agreements we sign.”
CIL is aiming to import at least 30 million tonnes of coal in fiscal 2011-12,
Jha said.
CIL is in negotiations with global firms such as Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Anglo American, Peabody, Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Murray Energy and Sinarmas.
CIL has been planning to import coal for domestic power companies for the last couple of years.
It had entered into talks with state-owned importers but did not import any coal since it did not receive adequate confirmed responses from domestic consumers.
The company now plans to import larger quantity of the fossil fuel as its expansion plans have been severely hit by factors such as new pollution norms and law and order issues at some of its mines.
To sweeten its offer for land acquisition, Coal India has decided to enhance the scope of offering jobs to land losers and increased the salaries and wages to be offered to such employees.
According to the CIL chairman, the company employs 3,000-4,000 people through this route annually.
CIL was required to acquire as much as 60,000 hectares during the current Plan period to step up production by approximately 160 million tonnes (to 520 mt).
The company sources suggest that in addition to the environmental restrictions, the increasing resistance to land acquisition proved to be a major stumbling block to increase production.
In a recent meeting, the board of directors allowed the company to offer employment at the ratio of one job for every two acres purchased directly by the company. CIL was so far offering jobs (at the same ratio) for acquisitions through notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, or the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957.
To ensure that the landowner does not enjoy the best of both worlds in the case of direct purchases, the job offer will be valid provided land is sold to CIL at a price not exceeding the notional value of the land to be offered for acquisition through the Land Acquisition Act.
Commenting on the development, Jha said that the modifications in the Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy should primarily help the company in acquiring land in non-coal bearing areas.
“While our mining requirements are generally met through enforcement of the Land Acquisition Act and Coal Bearing Areas Act, CIL acquires land in relatively smaller quantities in the non-coal bearing areas for building infrastructure.”
In addition to extending the job offer, the company has decided to reduce the probationary period for such employees from two years to six months. They will also get a higher pay during the probationary period.
Earlier, those offered jobs against land acquisition were serving the company for two years at a gross stipend of Rs. 7,000 a month before they were inducted as a regular employee. In the new scheme of things such candidates will be offered basic pay and dearness allowance from day one. All facilities offered to a regular employee will follow in six months. “The initial pay to any such a candidate will now be approximately 20 per cent higher,” Jha said.
CIL is also expecting to finalise the tender document for long-term off-take (import) contracts this month. The Board during the March 12 meeting entrusted a special board-level committee to give specific recommendations on the issue.
“We are expecting the recommendations to be considered and formalised later this month,” Jha said.
CIL is expecting to import 10-15 million tonnes of coal annually through this route.
The company’s output will not grow this fiscal and is anticipated to stay near last year’s level of 431 million tonne. We will have to pay Rs. 50 per tonne of cess,” said NC Jha, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the company, the world’s largest coal mining one.
The cess was introduced by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his 2010 Budget to build a corpus for the National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). This Fund was for research and innovative projects in clean technologies. During the 2011-12 budget, Mukherjee said Rs. 200 crore from the fund would be used as the Centre’s contribution for environmental remediation programmes. Another Rs. 200 crore would be used for the Green India Mission.
Though Kolkata-based CIL will not witness an increase in output, it will see nearly 15% rise in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs. 11,000 crore, as against Rs. 9,600 crore during the last financial year.
“This additional revenue will come from the recent price revision and through the extra revenue from e-auction,” said Jha, on the sidelines of a conference. “Our average premium from e-auction is 56% more than the notified price.”
Production hasn’t risen, he said, because of some environmental and some law and order problems.
“Production has dipped due to non-clearance of projects and no-go classification by the environment ministry,” he said.
The ministry of environment and forests has put nine of its coalfields under the ‘no-go’ classification, currently under ministerial review.
Coal India is negotiating 10-year contracts with overseas suppliers in an attempt to insulate Indian consumers from any volatility in global coal prices.
The company is in advanced talks with suppliers in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and the US for securing coal at 10% discount to the global benchmark price, its chairman Jha said.
“We hope to import at least half of the total contracted quantity during 2011-12, for which contracts will be signed in the next few weeks,” Jha said. “The quantity supplied in the first year will be gradually increased on the basis of the rise in domestic demand and the number of additional fuel supply agreements we sign.”
CIL is aiming to import at least 30 million tonnes of coal in fiscal 2011-12,
Jha said.
CIL is in negotiations with global firms such as Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Anglo American, Peabody, Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Murray Energy and Sinarmas.
CIL has been planning to import coal for domestic power companies for the last couple of years.
It had entered into talks with state-owned importers but did not import any coal since it did not receive adequate confirmed responses from domestic consumers.
The company now plans to import larger quantity of the fossil fuel as its expansion plans have been severely hit by factors such as new pollution norms and law and order issues at some of its mines.
To sweeten its offer for land acquisition, Coal India has decided to enhance the scope of offering jobs to land losers and increased the salaries and wages to be offered to such employees.
According to the CIL chairman, the company employs 3,000-4,000 people through this route annually.
CIL was required to acquire as much as 60,000 hectares during the current Plan period to step up production by approximately 160 million tonnes (to 520 mt).
The company sources suggest that in addition to the environmental restrictions, the increasing resistance to land acquisition proved to be a major stumbling block to increase production.
In a recent meeting, the board of directors allowed the company to offer employment at the ratio of one job for every two acres purchased directly by the company. CIL was so far offering jobs (at the same ratio) for acquisitions through notification under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, or the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957.
To ensure that the landowner does not enjoy the best of both worlds in the case of direct purchases, the job offer will be valid provided land is sold to CIL at a price not exceeding the notional value of the land to be offered for acquisition through the Land Acquisition Act.
Commenting on the development, Jha said that the modifications in the Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy should primarily help the company in acquiring land in non-coal bearing areas.
“While our mining requirements are generally met through enforcement of the Land Acquisition Act and Coal Bearing Areas Act, CIL acquires land in relatively smaller quantities in the non-coal bearing areas for building infrastructure.”
In addition to extending the job offer, the company has decided to reduce the probationary period for such employees from two years to six months. They will also get a higher pay during the probationary period.
Earlier, those offered jobs against land acquisition were serving the company for two years at a gross stipend of Rs. 7,000 a month before they were inducted as a regular employee. In the new scheme of things such candidates will be offered basic pay and dearness allowance from day one. All facilities offered to a regular employee will follow in six months. “The initial pay to any such a candidate will now be approximately 20 per cent higher,” Jha said.
CIL is also expecting to finalise the tender document for long-term off-take (import) contracts this month. The Board during the March 12 meeting entrusted a special board-level committee to give specific recommendations on the issue.
“We are expecting the recommendations to be considered and formalised later this month,” Jha said.
CIL is expecting to import 10-15 million tonnes of coal annually through this route.
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