‘K’taka’s coal shortage is Centre’s doing’

BENGALURU: The state government on Friday accused the Centre of ignoring the demands of Karnataka when it came to the supply of coal. Energy Minister D K Shivakumar sharply criticized the comments by Union Minister for Coal Piyush Goyal who had recently spoken on the coal supply situation in the Lok Sabha.

According to figures released by Shivakumar on Friday, there will be a shortfall of 12.88 lakh metric tonnes of coal for Karnataka in the first three months of 2018. While the requirement for running all thermal power stations is projected to be 55.07 lakh MT, only 45.22 lakh MT is expected to reach the state.
Laying the blame for this shortage squarely on the doors of the Central government, Shivakumar said the state had made several efforts to appraise the coal ministry of the urgent need for supplies.

“The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) and Government of Karnataka has written 55 letters to the Government of India/Utilities/Railways to increase the supply. It is for the GoI to respond suitably,” a statement from Shivakumar said.

In a point by point rebuttal, the statement also discusses Karnataka’s failed attempts to get coal from Maharashtra. “The government decided to appoint a mine development operator for the captive coal mines allotted in Maharashtra through an open transparent tender process but litigation held up the starting of operations.

Though the state government has not been able to operate these mines due to pending cases, the Government of India has issued a showcause notice threatening to cancel allotments,” the statement said, adding that other states like West Bengal and Punjab were also facing similar problems.

On the claim reportedly made by Goyal that Karnataka sought to regulate supply of coal as it had sufficient stock, Shivakumar dismissed this. He said the state had asked Mahanadi Coalfields to supply additional coal over and above the agreed upon quantity which showed that the state is facing a shortage.