Coal production from captive mines raises 24% output in April-December

Coal production from captive mines in the first nine months of the ongoing financial year was up 24% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 40.93 million tonne (MT). However, about 53% of the output came from coal blocks, which were not cancelled by the Supreme Court in its September 2014 order.

The apex court had then cancelled 204 out of 218 captive coal block licences, saying these had been allocated in an illegal and arbitrary manner. After the apex court ruling, 36 captive coal mines have been auctioned so far. Of these, 11 are producing coal at present. Allocations of nine mines have been terminated for various reasons.