Indian government issues new coal mining policy
According to the notice released by the Indian government, under the revised coal mining policy, state government companies are allowed to do mining of
coking coal and non-
coking coal, either by opencast or underground method, in the country. The earlier policy restricted companies to work only with small and isolated reserves. The policy was revised in December, 2001.
In line with the new policy, central government will not provide any financial assistance to the companies for coal mining. Moreover, the mines operated by the state government companies will not be taken over by the Central government in the case of closure of a mine.
Moreover, government demands public sector coal companies to increase their
production by 23 million tons to bridge the demand-supply gap of 55 million tons with the purpose of reaching the target of 350 million tons by 2006-2007.
India has experienced coal shortage this year, causing certain major steel producers in the country to temporarily halt their
production. As the restrictions on coal mining have been lifted,
production of coal is expected to increase.