ANGUL: Coal India Limited (CIL) chairman B Sairam on Friday said the Centre has decided to offload 25 per cent stake in the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), on the lines of disinvestment undertaken in Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI).
Sairam was on a one-day visit to the Talcher coalfields. Addressing mediapersons after inspecting the mines, he said the objective of the disinvestment is to leverage the company’s vast potential for business expansion. “MCL coal is widely accepted among all categories of consumers,” he said.
Sairam added that besides Talcher, Jharsuguda, Korba and Singrauli are among the major coalfields in the country, contributing a significant share to India’s coal production. He said that CIL is expected to produce around 781 million tonnes of coal in the current financial year, though dispatches may fall short of targets.
The next year’s production target will be aligned with demand. Despite the rise in solar power generation, CIL aims to maintain an annual growth rate of six to seven per cent, he added. The chairman ruled out any adverse impact on the public sector coal giant from the entry of private players into commercial coal mining. “We produce around 80 per cent of the country’s coal, while private players contribute the remaining 20 per cent. Both sectors are working to meet the nation’s demand,” he said.
He attributed the shortfall in dispatches to a temporary slack in demand, expressing confidence that demand would pick up in the coming months.
MCL chairman cum managing director Udaya Ananta Kaole, MCL director (HR) Keshav Rao, MCL director (Technical) Sanjay Jha, and MCL director (Finance) AK Behuria, were among the persons present.