The country’s coal dilemma has triggered a power conflict between two Congress-controlled states. Rajasthan has knocked on the doors of the Centre, claiming that the Chhattisgarh government is blocking plans to launch two coal blocks and increase production from two additional mines, following widespread blackouts caused by fuel shortages at its power units in recent months.
Rajasthan’s additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal has sought the assistance of coal and electricity secretaries Anil Jain and Alok Kumar, respectively, after repeated requests for clearance to the Chattisgarh forest department went unanswered.
In separate letters to Jain and Kumar, Agarwal emphasised the importance of the Centre intervening to pressure the Chattisgarh administration to take immediate steps to start/increase mine production in order to assure Rajasthan’s energy security.
Agarwal’s letter follows chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s missive to his Chhattisgarh counterpart and party colleague Bhupesh Baghel in October last year. “I would like to apprise you that Rajasthan has invested more than Rs 40,000 crore in thermal power stations installed in the state. These coal blocks fulfill the majority of coal requirements of current as well as upcoming RRVUNL (genco) power stations and are essential to ensure (Rajasthan’s) fuel security…,” Gehlot had told Baghel in a letter in October last year.
Parsa, Parsa East, Kanta Basan, and Kante Extension are the blocks in issue in Chattisgarh’s Sarguja district. Rajasthan was given three of these blocks in 2015 to feed a 4,340 MW generating capacity. The blocks and mines, which are located in the Hasdeo Arand forest area, have been the target of tribal protests since October, when they resisted mining activity in the area.
Even after the Union environment and forests ministry gave Stage-II forest clearance on October 21, according to Agarwal, the Chattisgarh forest department has yet to issue the requisite authorization to start the Parsa block, which has an estimated production potential of 5 million tonnes per annum.
According to Agarwal, the state administration has yet to make the requisite amendments in forest clearance for turning over 1,136 hectares of land sanctioned by the Union green ministry for the Kanta East and Kanta Basan mines. The additional land is estimated to raise production from the two mines by 40% to 21 million tonnes a year from 15 million tonnes.
For the Kante Extension block with an estimated production of nine million tonne a year, Agarwal says the Centre needs to get the Sarjuguda district magistrate to hold public hearings needed for clearance.
Due to coal shortages, there were outages in Rajasthan in September and October. The cost of obtaining extra coal from the market and power from the exchanges increased due to a nationwide rise in demand and reduction in production, forcing distribution utilities to raise power tariffs by 33 paisa per unit for the next three months.
Rajasthan already has one of the highest electricity tariffs in the country, and the state is struggling to keep electricity cheap for its tourism industry. Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), a power generation utility, is struggling to satisfy the state’s peak demand of 14,000 MW due to a lack of coal supply from Coal India Ltd, according to state officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
