Coal shortage row: Jharkhand CM blames Centre's uncleared dues for not buying electricity

Amidst the political furore over the alleged coal shortage in India, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren waded into the debate, claiming that the state would have bought electricity at Rs 50 per unit and supplied it to people, provided the Centre paid back Rs 1,30,000 crores worth dues to Jharkhand. CM Soren stated that he had written to the Center earlier informing that the state is confronting a scarcity of funds to implement socio-development projects and is awaiting payment of over Rs 1.36 lakh crores from the coal PSUs for the mining carried out by them in the mineral-rich regions of the state. It is pertinent to note that Jharkhand earns 80% of its revenue from the proceedings of coal.

Earlier in March, CM Soren wrote a letter to Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi, saying, "Despite repeated consultations with the Coal Ministry and NITI Aayog over the issue of non-payment of long-standing legitimate dues of Rs 1.36 lakh crore for the mining done by central PSUs, the Union government has paid no heed to the matter so far." Moreover, Hemant Soren reiterated the same demand in Delhi on April 30 and said,

"Had Govt of India paid us back, we would've made the purchase at Rs 50 per unit & supplied it to the people...We had written to Govt of India for repayment of over Rs 1,30,000 crores of our dues. This due pertains to coal, revenue resources of our mining areas etc."

'Will stop supplying Coal to Centre if dues are not paid': Jharkhand CM

Raising the issue in the Jharkhand assembly earlier in March, CM Soren had warned of halting the supply of coal if the money owed to the state government is not paid. He repeated the warning in the letter to the Coal Minister, "This is the state’s right and we will take it at any cost. If we are not given our due, we may block the supply of coal and minerals from the state," he wrote.

Meanwhile, on April 30, Saturday, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi affirmed there is enough availability of Coal to last for 10 days and there is no coal shortage in the country, "Thermal power plants hold 21-22 million tonnes of coal, enough for 10 days. Replenishment to be done continuously."

IMAGE: PTI