Allow Use of Domestic Coal in Plants Run on Imports: Parliamentary Panel

New Delhi: The government should consider allowing domestic coal to be used in imported coal-based thermal power plants to reduce the dependency on the dry fuel bought from other countries, says a Parliamentary Committee report.

"The Committee has noted that the use of indigenous coal by the imported coal-based thermal power plants is dependent on policy interventions by the government," Standing Committee on Coal and Steel said in its latest report.

It observed that governments intervention is needed for allowing use of domestic coal along with imported coal as the existing consent is only for the use of imported dry fuel.

"The committee has therefore desired that the government should earnestly address this issue to bring down the import of non-coking coal," the report said.

The committee also suggested that all out efforts be made to reverse the trend of importing coking coal by steel units by enhancing the domestic output or acquiring coking coal mines by Coal India overseas.

The panel also suggested that in addition to supply side, the demand projections of coal be revised in consonance with the demand trends from various sectors so that the demand supply gap does not depict a different story.

The 36th Report of the Committee on Production, Marketing and Distribution of Coal of the Coal Ministry was presented in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.