India’s total coal production surged to 30 percent with a production of 698.25 million tons, but netizens question why the Adani group still buys expensive coal from abroad.
Coal in India has been mined since 1774, and India is the second largest producer and consumer of coal after China, mining 777.31 million metric tons.
This rise in coal mining is from a period from April 2022 to January 2023 as compared to 601.97 MT during the same period in the previous year.
“When India’s coal production has increased by 30 percent, why is expensive coal from the Adani Group being bought from abroad?” Singh asked at a press conference last year 2022.
Anindita tweets: “When India’s coal production has increased by 30 percent, why is expensive coal from the Adani Group being bought from abroad?”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Centre on Thursday of importing coal at higher rates despite an increase in domestic coal production and said it will not allow imported coal to reach Uttar Pradesh. AAP’s national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh raised questions on purchasing coal from abroad. “When India’s coal production has increased by 30 percent, why is expensive coal from the Adani Group being bought from abroad?” Singh asked at a press conference here.
He argued that the cost of domestically-produced coal is Rs 3,000 per tonne, while the cost of the coal produced in the mines owned by the Adani Group abroad is Rs 30,000 per tonne.
Due to the purchase of coal from abroad, electricity will become expensive for crores of consumers in the country, Singh said.
There was no immediate response from the government over the allegation. Singh said the AAP will lodge complaints with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding this “robbery”.
He alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre has made such a plan that coal has to be bought only from the Adani Group’s mines at inflated rates. “The Aam Aadmi Party will not sit silently against this corruption and will not allow foreign coal to land anywhere in Uttar Pradesh,” Singh said.
"When India's coal production has increased by 30 per cent, why is expensive coal form the Adani Group being bought from abroad?”
–https://t.co/duKdCkP5YR
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15 Jul 2022 pic.twitter.com/eI0U2YqA6u— Anindita (@hatefreeworldX) April 25, 2023
According to the Coal Ministry, the target for domestic coal production in India is set at 1.31 billion tons (BT) for the financial year 2025, and this is projected to increase to 1.5 BT by the financial year 2030. The ministry notes that the increase in domestic coal production has helped to reduce the need for imports to meet the growing demand for coal, particularly for power generation.
The Ministry of Coal has been working closely with state and central government agencies to start new coal mines and increase production in existing ones. These efforts have resulted in a significant increase in production from captive and commercial coal mines, with output rising from 71.31 MT in April 2021 to January 2022 period of FY 21-22 to 93.22 MT in the same period of FY 22-23, indicating a growth of more than 30%.
Additionally, the coal production in India has increased from 730.87 MT in 2019-20 to 778.19 MT in 2021-22, achieving a growth rate of 6.47%. The increase in domestic production is expected to help reduce the country’s dependence on imported coal and enhance energy security.