BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that talks will intensify with the coal ministry and neighbouring states to get more coal. He said there is 9863MT coal in stock and already, two
rakes have reached Karnataka.
Bommai told the media, after a closed door meeting with officials from the energy department, that the financial issues of procuring coal are being addressed. He said if the state gets three more rakes, it will be in a comfortable situation.
“Talks have been held with the Singaneri collieries and they have agreed to give two rakes, but are demanding that payments be cleared, which will be done in a day or two. I will also talk to the Telangana chief minister and coal minister to get more rakes. We have been assured of ten plus two rakes. But we are in talks for two more rakes,” he said. The state is keen to get it from Telangana as it is close by, transportation is faster and also because of good quality.
The Chief Minister assured the citizens that there will be no power cuts and there are no power problems at the moment. He said that directions have also been issued to all Escoms to improve their equity and financial condition, and the revenue collected should be given first for coal procurement and then for capital investment, as it is the need of the hour.
An official from the energy department, who was present at the meeting, told The New Indian Express, “The state has to pay around Rs 500-600 crore, including arrears, to get coal from its sources immediately. In the wake of shortage, the three coal supplying units — MCL, WCL and SCL — which cannot hike the rate, are using the tactic of delayed clearing of dues for not releasing stock, apart from transportation challenges due to the rains. The discussion on how to clear payments so that Karnataka does not lag behind, was also discussed.”
All’s well, says Minister
Davanagere : Energy Minister Sunil Kumar on Tuesday said that there was no coal shortage and all the thermal power stations were functioning normally. He said that the Centre was providing the state with 8 rakes of coal for power generation each day. “We have sought 2 more rakes,” he said.