Oil companies engaged in drilling and exploration activities, power projects, coal and cement industries, besides developers of national highway in both public and private sectors have emerged as major environmental violators in the North-east. In a Question Hour discussion on Tuesday, Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jayanthi Natarajan allayed all apprehension over violation of environment norms in construction of dams in the North-east.

The government has begun consultations on disposal of surplus coal from captive mines amid differences among various ministries over the subject.
The process was initiated after the prime minister’s office asked the coal ministry to withdraw a notified surplus coal policy and hold inter-ministerial consultations.

A move which would lead to the setting up of a regulator empowered with deciding coal prices, production and supply of the dry fuel and allocation and cancellation of blocks and mining operations, the Union Cabinet is expected to give a nod to the Independent Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2012 during its meeting scheduled to take place on May 10.

Coal India will seek advice from the prime minister’s office through the coal ministry on how to go about signing fuel supply agreements with power units commissioned between January 2012 and March 2015. “We will ask the government on how to go about signing FSAs with plants that have come up after December 2011 and will be put up till March 2015. We will send our queries to the coal ministry which may take it up with the PMO’s office,” Coal India Chairman S Narsing Rao told ET.

State-run coal company has inserted clause in FSA saying customers will have to accept price changes
Coal India has inserted a new clause in Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) which says that if the state-run firm needs to import coal to meet its obligations, customers will have to accept the price it charges or surrender their right to be supplied the contracted quantity, further diluting its responsibility to provide fuel to power plants despite the Presidential Directive.

In a hurried move to implement the Presidential decree issued by the government to ensure adequate long-term coal supply to power firms, Coal India Limited (CIL) today approved the revised Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) to be executed with at least 48 companies for generating 18,522 Megawatt of electricity.

To develop mines and infrastructure, buy foreign assets & pay a dividend of . 6,500cr every yr. Coal India, facing pressure from the prime minister’s office to improve production, plans to invest . 75,000 crore ($14.6 billion) in the next five years to develop mines and infrastructure, buy foreign assets and be able to pay a dividend of . 6,500 crore every year, top company executives said.

New Delhi The growing demand of coal in the domestic market is likely to push up its international prices. Coal industry experts feel that the prices may go up significantly in near future, driven mainly by the demand in China and India.

Coal prices in the international market have gone up from over $80 per tonne in 2009 to over $110 per tonne at present.This, the experts, feel may cross $150 per tonne.