Nine of 12 coal blocks idle, FICCI urges Odisha authorities to intervene
2 min read By Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: The State authorities is shedding out on an enormous quantity of income from royalty with simply three of the 12 coal blocks, auctioned since 2015, in operation now.
Expressing concern over the delay in commissioning manufacturing of the auctioned coal blocks, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the State authorities to arrange a devoted cell to observe the progress and type out points regarding land acquisition and expeditious approval of statutory clearances.
Writing to Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra just lately, FICCI secretary normal Dilip Chenoy mentioned coal blocks allotted to 5 public sector undertakings and 4 non-public firms remained a non-starter attributable to delay in land acquisition and grant of statutory clearances.
“I would take this opportunity to bring to your kind notice that 12 coal mines have been allocated and auctioned in Odisha since 2015 having production capacity of 97 million tonne per annum (MTPA) which will generate revenue of over `7,000 crore every year for the State exchequer, creating over 1 lakh direct and indirect local jobs,” Chenoy mentioned.
The Dulanga coal block of NTPC, OCPL’s Manoharpur and the Talabira II and III blocks allotted to Neyveli Lignite Corporation have been operationalised. However, the Utkal-D block of NALCO, Baitarani West of OMC and Naini block of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) have remained idle within the final six years. Two different coal blocks allotted to Karnataka Power Corporation (Mandakini) and Gujarat Electricity Corporation (Utkal-C) are additionally mendacity idle.
Though Vedanta had efficiently bid for 2 blocks and GMR and Essel Mining one every, none of them have began the groundworks.
The cumulative reserve of coal within the 12 blocks is over 3,376 MT with a manufacturing capability of 97 MTPA. The State will get annual royalty to the tune of Rs 7,287 crore if all of the annual manufacturing capability is achieved, FICCI mentioned.
Chenoy mentioned that these auctioned coal blocks have important potential to generate income for the State and on the similar time create huge alternatives for native employment. Odisha’s GSDP is estimated to contract by 4.9 per cent (laptop) because of the affect of Covid-19.
However, the State’s efficiency is healthier compared to the general GDP of the nation which contracted at a better fee of seven.3 laptop in 2020-21.
“One of the key measures to revive the economy, in the current scenario, could be expeditious operationalisation of the already allocated coal blocks,” the FICCI secretary normal said.
