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KOLKATA, June 11

A COMMITTEE has been set up to examine the application for allotment of fresh mine blocks for captive mining by Bengal Emta Coal Mines Ltd (BECML), a joint venture of State-owned power companies and a private sector firm.

Sources said that after a series of meetings held in New Delhi, it has been decided to set up a committee to examine BECML's application for fresh mines' allotment.

The committee, in which the State Power Secretary would also be included, would have representatives from the Union Ministries of Coal, Railways and Power. It is slated to submit its report within a month, sources said adding that this was decided at a meeting of the `screening committee for allotment of coal for captive mining' held in New Delhi last Friday.

Pointing out that BECML's case got stronger after recommendations favouring fresh allotment by the Union Power Ministry, sources said that power companies, which hold stake in BECML find it an assured supply source, which is also cheaper than that of the public sector sources.

The mines, which have been identified by BECML, lie in Birbhum district in West Bengal and in Jharkhand.

BECML, in which the private sector Eastern Minerals & Trading Agency hold the largest stake (74 per cent) with the remaining part being held by the State-owned West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd (20 per cent) and Durgapur Projects Ltd, mines about three million tonnes of coal annually. This coal raised from the Tara (East and West) captive coalmines meets only a part of the fuel requirement of the two power generators.

Moreover, 13 million tonnes have already been mined from these blocks by the now six-year old company and it was felt that the 29 million tonnes coal reserves remaining in this area might not be sufficient to meet the requirements of WBPDCL, which now has a capacity of about 1,265 MW and is planning to set up four more units with a total capacity of nearly 1,200 MW. As a result of the State-level power reforms all the major thermal generating units earlier held by the West Bengal State Electricity Board are now with WBPDCL.

The outfit has a coal linkage with Eastern Coalfields Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd but says that not more than 40 per cent of this linkage materialises with supplies being irregular.

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