Coal India has sought relaxation from state governments in the movement of essential materials necessary to mine coal amid the countrywide lockdown.
Materials necessary for mining include explosives, spares, tyres, machine parts and other services. According to the miner, these are being procured on a war footing to keep the pace of production.
The request to the state governments comes on the back of a ministry of home affairs addendum on March 25 clarifying that coal mining and associated operations have been exempt from the nationwide lockdown.
According to Coal India officials, coal is an “essential service” as recognised under Emergency Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) 1981 and services engaged in the coal industry are categorise as “public utility”.