No Shortage Of Coal In The Country, Says Finance Minster

New Delhi: Stating that India is a power surplus country, the Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asserted that there is no shortage of coal in the country.

The Finance Minister while recalling Power Minister R K Singh statement on record, she said that it's absolutely baseless information that there is shortage of coal or other required sources used to generate energy due to which power supply to the countries will be hindered.

She said this, while answering a question asked by Harvard Professor Lawrence Summers about energy shortage and reports of reduced coal inventories in India on Tuesday.

Two days ago, Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi too had said that the Coal India currently has 22 days coal stock and the supply is being increased. The minister assured the entire country that coal will be made available as per the requirement.

''We expect coal supply to improve rapidly after the end of monsoon. After October 21, we will try to supply up to 2 million tons of coal,'' he added

Reportedly, 115 of the country's 135 power stations are facing severe coal shortages. There is less than four days of coal left in 70 power plants in the country. Around 70 percent of the electricity generation in India is dependent on coal-based thermal power plants. Following the shortfall, not only the opposition parties, but experts in this field have also expressed concern about the shortage of coal. Experts believe that if this crisis is not resolved, then the electricity-operated industry may face difficulties.

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