Rajasthan Energy Minister B.D. Kalla on Thursday demanded the Centre to provide coal to the State in adequate quantity so that the crisis caused by the shortage of coal could be addressed.
He clarified that the companies under Coal India do not have any dues with the State government and in lieu of the supply of coal, time bound payment is being made by the State.
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“It is the responsibility of the Central government to supply coal to the States on time as per the agreement and demand, but for the last several days, the companies of Coal India Limited did not supply coal daily according to the racks prescribed for the day in the contract,” he said.
Mr. Kalla said electricity generation has been adversely affected in thermal power plants not only in Rajasthan but also in many other states of the country.
“The decline in power generation in thermal power plants of the state is not a crisis of power but it is a coal crisis, which has arisen due to lack of coal supply at the level of central government,” he said in a statement.
In a way, he said, shortage of coal for thermal power generation plants has become a national crisis.
Mr. Kalla informed that Rajasthan has an agreement of supply of 11.5 racks of coal per day with two companies of Coal India, NCL and SECL, but due to rain water in the mines, the State has been getting an average of 5.38 racks per day (October 1 to 13).
