States may suffer ₹319 crore revenue loss owing to three-day strike by CIL unions

‘Of the estimated loss, Odisha is likely to take the maximum hit of around ₹ 70 crore, followed by Chhattisgarh’

Employees of Central Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, participate in three day coal strike outside Raj Bhawan during a protest against the privatization of coal mines, in Ranchi on Thursday.

Coal-bearing states, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, may suffer an estimated revenue loss of ₹319 crore on account of a three-day strike by Coal India unions .

Coal India trade unions started their three-day strike, protesting against the Centre’s decision to allow commercial mining , on Thursday, which is likely to hit around four million tonnes of production.

Of the estimated ₹319 crore loss, Odisha is likely to take the maximum hit of around ₹ 70 crore, followed by Chhattisgarh (₹ 66 crore), Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand (₹61 crore each), Maharashtra (₹27 crore), West Bengal (₹23 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (₹11 crore), according to a coal ministry official.

Of an average 1.5 million tonnes of coal mined by Coal India (CIL) per day, around ₹106 crore of revenue goes to States’ exchequer, the official explained.

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had in December informed Parliament that the government collected ₹2.03 lakh crore in revenue from Coal India from 2013-14 up to 2018-19.

Of the total revenue received, the maximum of ₹44,826.43 crore was mopped up in 2018-19.

In 2017-18, the revenue stood at ₹44,046.57 crore, while in the preceding fiscal, it was ₹44,068.28 crore, the Minister had said.

In 2015-16, the government collected ₹ 29,084.11 crore in revenue from the PSU, whereas in the preceding fiscal, the figure stood at ₹ 21,482.21 crore.

In 2013-14, the revenue was at ₹ 19,713.52 crore, he said.

Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the coal producing states.

Coal India unions are protesting the government’s decision to allow commercial coal mining, among other issues.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining.

Coal minister Mr. Joshi had said that no State government except West Bengal opposed the government’s move to open the coal sector for private companies.

The Centre, Mr. Joshi said, does not want any confrontation with the States over the sale of mines.

The Minister also stressed that apprehensions of the Jharkhand government that investors may not turn up for the auction of mines due to COVID-19 were “unfounded”.

He also said that Chhattisgarh expressed reservations about four blocks.