Time of free lunches is over: Piyush Goyal to mining industry
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Coming down heavily on the mining industry over concessions and freebies, Mines Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the time of "free lunches" is over.
Goyal, who also heads ministries of Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, said the industry should look at an era of transparency, fair play, concern for labour and health and happiness of the people impacted by mining.
Speaking at industry body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries' annual conclave, the minister said that the argument on reducing import duty on iron ore does not hold much ground.
"Argument is that you want to export mineral out, but there is a local demand which continues to import from abroad. You will not correct your prices to meet that demand, but would rather let leave it in stock or rather export it or wait for government to give you that concession to export," he said.
He further said: "So to my mind, things have changed. I may be sounding harsh to you, but I think it's time that we all recognise that national interest will prevail over industry interest. Free lunches are over..."
Goyal said that the government wants the industry to have a greater degree of competition as well as wants there to be a fair availability of materials.
On extension of non-captive mines, the Minister said: "It is enough that government has given extension to non-captive mines till 2020. This you (miners) got free of charge, you are minting money out of that. Let the nation also get some money out of it which can go for public welfare.
"So be happy about 2020 and don't push me to reconsider that by going for 2030. We (government) have thought this through in great detail, including in the Cabinet..."
Attacking the sector on freebies, he said: "There is a good bank balance ... Created in the last 50-100 years. You got free mines. What you did not labour (employees), broke labour laws, we all know.
"So let bygones be bygones, look at it as an era of transparency, fair play, concern for labour and the health and happiness of the people impacted and be concerned for the environment and be conscious of paying your taxes..."
He, however, said that mineral industry has an extremely important role to play in creating national wealth.
On mineral exploration, he said: "You raised a point that no industry has survived or thrived based on exploration being carried out by the government. I can fully agree with you on that.
"But other than a few rogue nations or banana republics, no nation in the world has the kind of corruption and evasion of taxes and illegalities that probably we have created over the last many years."
After all why would Supreme Court cancel 204 coal blocks and declare them illegal and arbitrary allotments, he added.
Also in some parts of the world such as Australia and the US, land area is vast and few people are interested in exploration, but in India, it is completely opposite, the minister explained.
Demand slow; UDAY benefits will take time to accrue: NTPC Power demand is slowing down
Power demand is slowing down says Kulamani Biswal, Director-Finance at NTPC who believes it will take some time before the benefits of the government’s Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme starts bearing fruit. In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Biswal says available capacity is 91 percent but current plant load factor (PLF) is around 78 percent. NTPC was able to raise Green Masala Bonds at reasonable yield of 7.84 percent, he says.
Below is the verbatim transcript of Kulamani Biswal's interview to Latha Venkatesh & Anuj Singhal.
Latha: The last time we got the core sector data, which was about two-three days back, the power output showed a distinct decline. Is that the situation on the ground, you are not seeing enough demand?
A: In Q2 our generation has increased marginally and up to September we have generated 6 billion units in comparison to previous figure. So, the generation is increasing and that is why we are hopeful of Q3 and Q4, as against 241 billion units which we generated last year, our target is 246 billion unit and we will meet the target.
Latha: But that is barely 2 percent higher? Is that your entire target is?
A: So far electricity is concerned unless there is demand you cannot develop.
Latha: So there is no demand you are saying?
A: My plant load factor (PLF) is 78 percent and the capacity is 91 percent that means I am able to generate up to 91 percent.
Read more at: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/demand-slow-uday-benefits-will-take-time-to-accrue-ntpc_7566301.html?utm_source=ref_article
A village under siege puts NTPC project in limbo
Dadikala — a small hamlet just a couple of kilometres from Barkagaon, 30 km from Hazaribagh town — seems to be under siege.
The road to the village is heavily fortified and no one is being allowed there after four villagers were killed in police firing on Saturday. Everyone on this road is being photographed and vehicle registration numbers noted. The picturesque town of Barkagaon, too, has become a fortress after the incident. Rapid Action Force and armed policemen in full riot gear are stationed at every corner. The fear of police reprisal seems apparent, as all those Business Standard spoke to refused to be photographed.
Dadikala came under the limelight after Pawan Kumar (16), Abhishek Rai (18), Ranjan Rai (18) and Mohammad Mehtab Alam (29) were killed in police firing. The police said they were trying to dispel a mob that had wanted to free Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Barkagaon, Nirmala Devi. She has been leading a protest over compensation being paid to villagers for the land being acquired by NTPC for the Pakri Barwadih coal mining project. Police had taken her into custody for leading an agitation though Section 144 was imposed. Police officers said they were forced to open fire after the mob assaulted them. An additional superintendent of police (operations) and a circle officer were seriously injured in the incident. Their vehicles were also torched.
But the four who died were not part of the mob, allege locals. “They were innocent bystanders,” says Mohammed Rasid, who runs a small shop in Barkagaon. “They were not even part of the mob that had attacked the police team, which had taken Nirmala Devi into custody.”
Sanjay Mehto, a resident of Karanpura, says: “Those who were killed belonged to poor families. Pawan was a meritorious student, whose parents were daily wage earners. Mehtab Alam was a tailor and the sole breadwinner of his family.”
NTPC had started acquiring 8,000 acres across 28 villages for mining in 2006. Protests had started then. At the heart of the agitation was discontent over the Rs 2 lakh an acre compensation then promised by NTPC. In 2010, NTPC agreed to pay Rs 20 lakh an acre, after an agreement with the villagers. But this time around, the villagers started demanding compensation under the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The latest Act says four times the market value of land must be paid by a public sector utility for land acquisition.
The land being acquired is considered one of the most fertile in Jharkhand. Most people who were set to lose their land are farmers with small holdings. The proposed mine is claimed to be one of the largest coal blocks of Asia.
Surendra Sao, whose land was acquired for the project, says: “NTPC gave us Rs 20 lakh for an acre. That’s very low. According to the Act passed by the central government, we should get at least Rs 35 lakh.” Some are even demanding Rs 70 lakh an acre. Residents say this situation has come about because the district administration had stopped the sale of land in localities close to the mine to anyone except NTPC, according to the legal procedure of land acquisition.
However, administrative officials have another view. “In 2006, when NTPC decided to acquire land, people demanded higher compensation. It was raised to Rs 20 lakh an acre in 2010. However, now they are demanding even more. When we refused, they tried to hold us to ransom. How can this be justified?” asks a senior police officer. Sanjay Kumar, who runs a confectionery shop in Barkagaon market, becomes livid when someone asks him for a solution. “There is a solution to every problem, even Kashmir. However, the authorities don’t want to listen to the people. Everyone is trying to score political gains. This is the third incident of firing over this issue in Barkagaon and half a dozen people have lost their lives. Political parties of every hue and colour have fired upon the people.” Police personnel eating in his shop nod.
The incident has scared away NTPC officials, its contractors and labourers. All of them have left the construction sites and offices in Barkagaon. “Nobody is here, the office is locked,” says Syeed Latif, an assistant sub-inspector at the site office. The six unit office complexes are empty and there are locks on every gate. Repeated calls to NTPC officials went unanswered. The NTPCpower plant site is completely vacant. Nearby eateries are empty, its owners unsure of future prospects.
“It is a very big incident,” says Sunder Soni, owner of four eateries situated nearby. “There used to be more than 100 labourers working round the clock here. However, all of them left in a hurry on Saturday. It will be awhile before they return. The situation is very tense.”
However, police officers say the situation is under control and there is nothing to be worried about. “Everything is fine here, there is no need to be worried,” Barkagaon police station chief Vinay Kumar Gupta says with confidence. But the assertion in his voice fades when he is asked the route to Dadikala.
Rajendra Mehto, a resident, asks: “Why don’t you ask the deputy commissioner whether NTPChas taken the approval of 70 per cent of the Gram Sabha members?” Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, an entity has to get 70 per cent of the Gram Sabha members concerned to approve the acquisition of forest land. The incident happened at a time when Chief Minister Raghubar Das and his high-powered team is hard-selling the state to prospective domestic and foreign investors. Das, who reached Ranchi on Sunday from the US, ordered a high-level probe into the matter. “We are trying to find who was behind the incident. Justice will be done after a proper probe,” Chief Secretary Raj Bala Verma had told the media.
Police have lodged a First Information Report against the Barkagaon MLA, her husband Yogendra Sao, a former agriculture minister, 35 named and 100 unnamed persons for the violence and attacks. Sao was earlier ousted from the district for disturbing the law and order situation. However, the ouster order was later cancelled by a district court earlier this year. Many villagers agree Sao is a discredited politician. But for the land-losers, he is their only leader. “He was branded a criminal as part of a conspiracy. He is the only person fighting for us. It was Sao who forced NTPC to increase compensation from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 20 lakh an acre. He was in jail when his wife fought the election and won by a huge margin. He has public support. Why don’t you question NTPC and the company’s agent and their goons?” asks one Mansoor Alam.
Coal Min asks MoEF to expedite green nod to CIL washeries
The Ministry of Coal has asked the Environment Ministry to expedite the process of green clearances to state-owned CIL washeries so that the company can provide quality coal to its customers.
In a meeting last month, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal requested Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave to hasten the process of green nod to washeries, an official said.
The government had earlier said that challenge is not quantity but quality of the fossil fuel. Setting up washeries at faster rate will hasten the coal washing process and provide quality coal to CIL customers.
The official further said that during the meeting, the coal ministry brought to the notice of Dave the forest area issue with regard to one to two washeries.
Coal washing is a process of separation mainly based on difference in specific gravity of coal and associated impurities like shale, sand and stones to get relatively pure marketable coal without changing its physical properties.
The country has 15 washeries with a capacity of 38 million tonnes per annum.
The Coal Ministry had earlier this year informed a Parliamentary panel that it will establish 15 coal washeries, which will be made operational by September next year.
These washeries will be built in two phases on Build-own -Maintain and EPC contract on turnkey basis.
Regarding new initiatives taken for quality improvement of coal, the members were informed that from January 1, 2016, it has been made mandatory to supply 100 per cent crushed coal of (-) 100 mm size to power sector consumers having fuel supply agreement (FSA) excluding pit-head power plants of Northern Coalfields (NCL) and Eastern Coalfields (ECL)
Warm Regards
Anurag Singal
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