Centre working on Jharkhand to agree on commercial mining, says minister

The Centre on Monday said it is trying to “consult and convince” the Jharkhand government about the benefits of its commercial coal mining policy which is designed to boost domestic production and reduce imports.

Union coal minister Prahlad Joshi said during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha that it was a “big sin” that India, despite having the largest coal reserves, was dependent on import of thermal coal used in power generation.

The dependence on imports was due to restriction on allocation of coal blocks, which had been eased out after serious consultations with state governments, he said. After the consultations, the central government brought a commercial coal mining policy under which coal blocks are opened to private investors through auction for commercial purpose, he added.