Coal production up in 2014-15: Goyal

Coal production increased from 556.4 MnT in 2012-13 to 610.8 MnT during 2014-15, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy, said. The Minister stated that as per the coal ministry´s annual plan document of 2015-16, the annual target for overall coal production for 2015-16 is fixed at 700 MnT. An action plan has also been drawn up to achieve production of the stated target of 1,000 MnT by 2019-20. As on April 1, 2015, a total of 81,049 MnT of geological resources of coal reserves had been estimated in Jharkhand by the Geological Survey of India. The Minister said in order to increase production in Jharkhand, the focus is to facilitate environment and forest clearances, assist with land acquisition and coordinate with the Railways for moving coal.