Orissa HC to intervene no more over less coal supply issue

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday disposed off petitions filed by Vedanta Ltd, Hindalco Industries Limited and Utkal Alumina International Limited seeking intervention against short supply of coal to their smelter plants for captive power generation.

The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice RK Pattanaik said the court would not like to intervene further as it had facilitated a joint meeting of all the parties with the central government's Coal, Mines and Power ministries along with the Railway Board and an interim solution was worked out. 

"Since these are matters of policy consideration in a critical situation there are limits to judicial intervention which the Court must acknowledge," the bench said. Assistant Solicitor General of India Prasanna Kumar Parhi placed before the court the minutes of the meeting held through video conference on May 2.

Under the interim solution coal company is to supply at least the trigger level of the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA). In case of non-availability of rakes, the coal quantity up to trigger level may be offered through road mode and consumer may lift coal after following laid down procedure.

Considering the critical coal stock at power houses and priority to improve supply to power sector, all effort would be put in to maintain the existing supply of rakes to the non-power sector including the aluminium industries.

On behalf of the petitioner companies, grievance was made about availability of rakes for transporting coal which is already in short supply and about diversion of the rakes by the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) on the instructions of the Central government for supplies to the power sector. 

The bench said, "The entire country is indeed undergoing a critical phase of shortage of coal to various sectors, primarily power sector and the necessity of the Railways having to reallocate the priorities to meet the immediate crisis in the power sector."

"The court would therefore expect all parties who attended the May 2 meeting to adhere to the decisions arrived at and work the interim solution so that the operation of the aluminium industries who have approached the court are not pushed to a critical stage," it added.

The bench left it open for the petitioner companies to now approach the ministries concerned on the basis of the decisions taken at the May 2 meeting with their specific demands.