Coal and Mines Minister, G. Kishan Reddy today said the government has no plan to privatise coal mines across the country. He stated this while replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. Responding to a query on the privatisation of Singareni Coal Mine in Telangana, Mr Reddy said, there is no plan for privatisation of this mine.
He said a 51 per cent stake in the Singareni coal mine is with the state government and 49 per cent under the Central Government. He stressed that the government wants to strengthen the Singareni coal mine.
Highlighting the steps taken to bring transparency in the coal sector, Mr Reddy said, that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a new policy on coal mine allocation was brought with an aim to bring transparency in the sector. He said, 322 coal mines are in operation as of now under the Coal India Limited, and 54 commercial and captive mines are operational in the country. He said, 15 coal mines will become operational in the coming months. He also informed us that there is no shortage of coal in the country. The Minister said the government is committed to reducing dependence on imported coal and is ready to supply coal according to the demand.