Jaipur, March 4. Chief Minister Mr Ashok Gehlot has directed to ensure adequate availability of coal at the power stations in the State. He said that storage of coal should be done as per the rule at the coal-based power stations of Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, so that there is no obstacle in power generation anywhere in the State.
Mr Gehlot was reviewing the coal and power supply in the
meeting of the Energy Department on Friday. He directed the officers to have
regular coordination at the level of the concerned ministries of the Union
Government for the supply of coal and its early lifting. He asked the officers
to maintain regular contact with the Coal Ministry, Rail Ministry and Coal
India Limited. Shri Gehlot said that it should be ensured to lift coal at the
earliest from the coal mines by making efforts with the Rail Ministry to
increase the number of rakes.
The demand of electricity and its availability for the next six
months in the State was discussed in the meeting. Energy department officers in
the meeting informed that the price of imported coal is continuously
increasing. The rate of imported coal a year ago was around 87.5 dollars per
tonne, which rose to 220 dollars per tonne last month and currently is around
440 dollars per tonne.
In the meeting, it was informed that the demand for domestic
coal is increasing due to an increase in the rate of imported coal because of
the Ukraine crisis. This is also increasing the cost of electricity generation.
Additional Chief Secretary Energy Dr Subodh Agarwal informed
about the availability of coal and efforts made to increase the stock and early
lifting from the mines.
Minister of State for Energy Mr Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Chief
Secretary Smt Usha Sharma, Discoms Chairman Shri Bhaskar A Sawant, Secretary
Finance (Expenditure) Mr Naresh Thakral and other senior officers of the
energy department were present in the meeting.
