New Delhi: The Union government has set a target to achieve 200 million tonne coal production per annum from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Odisha in one-and-half years, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said Monday in the Rajya Sabha. The minister said the Centre had a long discussion with the Odisha government about mining including that os coal.
“We received many suggestions from them (Odisha). After receiving those suggestions and having a threadbare discussion with them, we have made changes in certain things. By that, the overall production, which was around 60-65 million tonne in 2014, has today reached almost 170 million tonne,” Joshi said. He added that the target of 200 million tonne per annum from the Mahanadi Coalfields will be achieved in one-and-a-half years.
Joshi was responding to a question posed by Biju Janata Dal (MP) Sasmit Patra during the Question Hour. The BJD MP had asked the minister about the plans and programmes that the Centre has in terms of utilising capacity of coal in Odisha so that it becomes the largest coal bearing and coal-extraction state in India.