Fimi urges coal ministry to fast-track auctions of Schedule II blocks
In view of the spike in coal imports, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi) has urged the Ministry of Coal (MoC) to hasten the auctions of Schedule II coal blocks.
“There is an urgency to augment domestic coal production on fast track basis. In the list of coal blocks earmarked for commercial sale of coal, there are few Schedule-II mines which can be brought to production within few months time. MoC should bring all such Schedule-II mines for auction under the first tranche”, Fimi reasoned.
The country has witnessed a consistent surge in coal imports. During 2018-19, 235 million tonnes (mt) of coal including coking coal was imported. In the current fiscal, coal imports are forecast to surge further. Since the country imports a significant quantum of coal imports, much of the foreign exchange is spent on buying coal.
