Govt keen on increasing private participation in coal sector
The long pending Coal Mines Nationalisation (Amendment) Bill 2000 - which was aimed at facilitating commercial mining and sale of coal - is all set to be revived as the Coal Ministry plans to take labour unions on board in order to convince them to allow the proposal to come through.
According to sources, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal is said to have discussed the move with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a recent meeting and accordingly efforts will now be made to bring the Bill out of the backburner. The matter is said to have come up for discussion during Modi’s interaction with his Cabinet colleagues last week, sources said.
The move seems to be in sync with the Modi Government’s agenda of introducing greater private participation in the coal sector. In fact, President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the Parliament on Monday also highlighted this fact. “Reforms in the coal sector will be pursued with urgency for attracting private investment in a transparent manner,” the President said in his address, which is considered a significant indicator of the Government’s future policies.
The minister, sources said, is confident of convincing the trade unions - mainly of Coal India ltd (CIl), who had opposed the amendments in 2000 when the amendment bill was first moved - though it would be a tough ask considering the fact that owing to their stiff opposition the previous UPA Government could not go ahead with the follow on public offer of CIl.
The Coal Mines Nationalisation (Amendment) Bill 2000 was introduced in Rajya Sabha in April 2000 (when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government was in power) and a group of ministers was constituted in 2001 to convince the trade unions to let it pass. However owing to their vehement opposition to the intent of the bill, it could not move forward. The ministerial panel was reconstituted in August 2009 under the chairmanship of the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, but nothing happened beyond that.
However, the present NDA regime under Modi is clear about increasing private participation in the coal sector as it believes that by doing so, there will be greater competition within the sector and CIl’s monopoly will also be broken. Also entry of private companies will bring in modern technology for coal evacuation, and this in turn will enhance production of the fossil fuel.
The Government’s intention of reintroducing the pending bill also is in sync with its plans to go ahead with the restructuring of CIl (another pending decision from the UPA days). The Maharatna company’s restructuring involves breaking all its seven subsidiaries into separate entities, something which will increase competition as well as address the long festering demand-supply gap of coal to thermal plants.
The Pioneer had earlier reported that CIl’s restructuring is very much on cards ever since the NDA Government has assumed charge at the Centre and in fact it is also part of the Coal Ministry’s 100 days agenda.
If the Government succeeds in convincing trade unions about the passage of Coal Mines Nationalisation (Amendment) Bill 2000, then its intention of introducing greater private participation in the coal sector could get a major push. Commercial Mining could help a long way in addressing the demand-supply gap in coal production.