'Coal output may be short by 200 mt in 12th Five-Year Plan'

NEW DELHI: The Coal Ministry on Tuesday said the shortfall in domestic coal output in the country is likely to exceed 200 million tonnes (MT) in the forthcoming Five-Year Plan (2012-17) period if proactive measures are not taken to bridge the demand-supply gap for the fossil fuel.

"Unless we facilitate new production through proactive measures, the gap in demand and supply from domestic sources would exceed 200 MT in the 12th Plan period," coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said on the sidelines of the Indian Coal Markets Conference organised here by mjunction services.

"We are on the threshold of the 12th Five-Year Plan, where the rise in production is expected to come from spillover projects of the 11th Plan and the new ones to be taken up in the 12th Plan," he added.

Earlier, the Planning Commission had also said the country's coal demand will go up to 1,000 MT by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, necessitating about 200 MT of imports to bridge the shortfall in domestic output.

The production shortfall in the current fiscal is projected at 142 MT, with domestic output likely to amount to 554 MT.