Mahanadi coalfields loses 20 million tonne production due to strikes

21-January-2019

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, one of the largest coal producing companies in the country, has lost about 20 million tonne of production so far this fiscal due to strikes and agitations at its mines.

This is one of the highest loss due to disruptions recorded by any Indian coal company, and the Sambalpur-based subsidiary of Coal India will now have to nearly double its present production pace to meet its annual targets, officials said.

Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL), which lost about 1.5 million tonne of production during a five-day strike last week, is presently producing 47 lakh tonne of coal per day on an average. It would have to ramp up the output to at least 79 lakh tonne a day to achieve its target of 162 million tonne this financial year, an official said.

The January-March quarter is the peak production period for coal companies.

Union coal minister Piyush Goyal has taken up the matter with Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

“Unfortunately, MCL continues to encounter severe problems in achieving the annual production target of 162.5 million tonne in 2018-19,” Goyal wrote in the letter to Patnaik. “By December 2018, MCL has already suffered production loss of nearly 20 million tonne, which has resulted in revenue loss of about .`1,130 crore to the government of Odisha. This has also resulted in cumulative loss of power generation in the country to the tune of nearly 32,600 million units.”

Goyal also expressed concerns on safety of mines. “It has reached the stage wherein mines safety has been adversely affected and may worsen as the machines deployed in mines may get submerged due to stoppage of pumping operations,” he wrote. “Further, the risk of spontaneous heating or fire in the coal stock cannot be rules out.”

MCL, which contributes about 25% to the total output of Coal India, commands over Talcher and Ib Valley coalfields in Odisha.

Intermittent stoppages and disturbances in mining operations, particularly in various mines under Talcher coalfields, have affected production from the fields.

Last week, an indefinite strike by Talcher Suraksha Manch on issues related to implementation of the state’s rehabilitation policy in the Talcher coalfields had disrupted production.

Of its targeted production of 162.5 million tonne of coal for this fiscal, MCL had planned for a record 100 million tonne to come from Talcher, known as the Coal City of Odisha, with the rest coming from mines in Ib Valley coalfields.

Goyal, in his letter, sought the Odisha chief minister’s intervention in resolving the issues related to MCL. “The contribution of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd does not need any emphasis as it is the highest revenue earning entity for the state of Odisha,” he wrote.

Source: THE ECONOMIC TIMES