Coal India Ltd (CIL) has set a production target 492 MnT (million tons) for the next fiscal year even as the state-run firm is set to
miss the current fiscal's 464 MnT target by a huge gap.
“Even this year, when the Planning Commission was setting the target for
next year.We, in the Coal Ministry, had taken an additional 5 MnT production.
For Coal India, target for next year was supposed to be 487 MnT, we have taken the
target to 492 MnT,” Coal secretary S K Srivastava said.
If the target for 2013-14 is met, CIL's move to burden itself with higher
production would set an unmatched example, particularly when missing targets
has often become a norm for PSU's.
In fact, the coal secretary said, CIL would miss the 464 MnT target for
production for current fiscal by 2-3 MnT attributing the shortfall to workers resorting to strike and other issues.
The additional 5 MnT production that CIL plans to achieve compared to 487 MnT set
by Planning Commission would be allocated to the power sector and thus, the
total supply to the coal-hungry sector would go up to 377 MnT from earlier 372 MnT envisaged for fiscal year 2013-14, he added.
Coal India hopes to annually produce 615 MnT of coal by the end of the current
Plan period (2012-17). The gap between the demand and domestic supply by that
year is estimated to be 185 MnT which is to be met through imports.
Mr. Srivastava said that with a view to infuse competition in the coal sector, an
exercise of restructuring of Coal India has been proposed to be taken up. For
appointing consultants, the Coal Ministry has invited expression of interests
from the interested parties.
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