Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Coal, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Sriprakash Jaiswal, has put at rest the controversy over the size of import of coal by the Tamil Nadu government.
Addressing a press conference on the Neyveli Lignite Corporation premises here on Tuesday, Mr. Jaiswal sided with Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi by stating that the figure quoted by the latter in regard to coal import was correct. Mr. Karunanidhi had gone on record stating that between 2005 and 2010 the State had imported 83 lakh tonnes of coal as against the claim of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa that the government had imported 680 lakh tonnes of coal from Indonesia at a higher cost.
