Lok Sabha Question No. 1720 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Performance of Coal Sector
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Himadri Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No.1720 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## Performance of Coal Sector

## 1720. SHRIMATI HIMADRI SINGH:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) the performance of India's coal sector during  FY 2021-22;
- (b) the details of the star rating policy of coal mines along with the steps taken by the Government to increase ease of doing business in coal sector;
- (c) the contribution of coal sector for Atmanirbhar Bharat; and
- (d) the steps taken to bring transparency and accountability in the coal sector to deal with accusation of malpractices?

## Answer

## MINISTER OF  PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

- ( a): The coal production in the country increased to 778.19 MT in 2021-22 from 716.08 MT in 2020-21. This was a significant growth of 8.5% in coal production in 2021-22. Further, overall  dispatch / offtake of Coal in 2021-22 was 819 MT as compared to 691 MT in 2020-21, thereby showing a growth of 18.5%.

(b): Star Rating Policy for all the operational Coal Mines envisages 50 evaluation parameters in Opencast Mines and 45 such parameters in Underground Mines under  seven  broad  modules  namely  -  Mining  Operations  Related  Parameters, environment related Parameters, Adoption of Technologies: Best Mining Practices, Economic Performance, Rehabilitation & Resettlement related parameters, Worker related Compliance and Safety and security related parameters.

To enhance ease of Doing Business, the Ministry has taken following steps:

Single Window Clearance: The Union Government has launched Single Window clearance  portal  for  the  coal  sector  to  speed  up  the  operationalisation  of  coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required  for  starting  a  coal  mine  in  India.  Now,  the  complete  process  shall  be facilitated through Single Window Clearance Portal, which will map not only the relevant  application  formats,  but  also  process  flow  for  grant  of  approvals  or clearances. Mining Plan approval process has also been simplified and converted to an online process.

Amendment of MMDR Act 1957: Necessary amendment has been carried out in Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  and  Regulation)  Amendment  Act,  1957  and MCR 1960 to allow sale of coal or lignite up to 50% of annual production after meeting the requirement of the end use linked plant and also increased the lease period upto 50 years.

e-Auction:  Offering of all the non-linkage coal by coal companies through one eauction window which would cater to all the sectors viz. Power sector and NRS including traders.

Besides the above, Coal companies have reduced the maximum Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) from Rs. 1.00 Crore to Rs. 50.00 lakh; Submission of EMD has been made online; the EMD or unsuccessful bidders is auto-refunded; Security Deposit amount for existing contracts and for tenders to be floated till 31.03.2023 has been reduced from 10% of contract value to 3% of contract value; for Micro, Small  &  Medium  Enterprises  and  Startups  are  exempted  from  criteria  of  prior experience and turnover for participation in tenders; and the MSEs, and Startups are  also  exempted  from  submitting  Earnest  Money  against  tenders.  Various tender eligibility parameters have also been relaxed in case of works and services contracts to reduce entry barriers.

(c):  In order to curb coal imports and make India Atmanirbhar in respect of coal consumption,  Ministry  of  Coal  has  taken  many  measures  to  increase  domestic production of coal. Coal companies have been given enhanced production target, Coking  coal  mission  has  been  launched  to  reduce  import  of  coking  coal,  Coal gasification mission has also been launched and First Mile connectivity projects have been undertaken to enhance coal evacuation capacity.

(d): Following are some of the steps taken to bring transparency and accountability to deal with accusation of malpractices.

- (1) E-procurement :  E-procurement  has  been  implemented  in  CIL  and  its subsidiaries on NIC platform for procurement of goods, services and works. This, completely  automatic  online  platform,  has  eliminated  the  human  interface between the buyer and seller and ensures transparency and accountability in all procurement  related  transactions.  Also  the  method  of  reverse  auction  is  being used  for  methodical  bidding  and  discovery  of  right  prices  in  procurements  of goods costing more than Rs. 50 lakhs. This method has resulted in huge savings of time and money.

(2) GeM  portal :  As  per  the  directives  of  Government  of  India  Coal  India  is using GeM portal for procuring goods and services since 2017.

- (3) On line auto refund of EMD : The facility of, online auto refund of Earnest money deposit to the unsuccessful bidders in the NIC e-procurement portal, is used by coal companies.
- (4) Bill-  tracking  system :  An  online  system  has  been  introduced  where  the vendors  who  submit  their  bills  can  track  the  current  status  of  process  and payment. This system enhances the transparency, in bill processing and release of payment. This is a major step towards elimination of scope for corruption.
- (5) Enterprises Resource plan (ERP) : All coal companies have rolled out ERP for efficiency and transparency in operation.

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