Jaipur, March 4. Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot has directed to ensure adequate availability of coal at the power stations in the State. He said that storage of coal should be done as per the rule at the coal-based power stations of Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, so that there is no obstacle in power generation anywhere in the State.

Shri Gehlot was reviewing the coal and power supply in the meeting of the Energy Department on Friday. He directed the officers to have regular coordination at the level of the concerned ministries of the Union Government for the supply of coal and its early lifting. He asked the officers to maintain regular contact with the Coal Ministry, Rail Ministry and Coal India Limited. Shri Gehlot said that it should be ensured to lift coal at the earliest from the coal mines by making efforts with the Rail Ministry to increase the number of rakes.

The demand of electricity and its availability for the next six months in the State was discussed in the meeting. Energy department officers in the meeting informed that the price of imported coal is continuously increasing. The rate of imported coal a year ago was around 87.5 dollars per tonne, which rose to 220 dollars per tonne last month and currently is around 440 dollars per tonne.

In the meeting, it was informed that the demand for domestic coal is increasing due to an increase in the rate of imported coal because of the Ukraine crisis. This is also increasing the cost of electricity generation.

Additional Chief Secretary Energy Shri Subodh Agarwal informed about the availability of coal and efforts made to increase the stock and early lifting from the mines.

Minister of State for Energy Shri Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Chief Secretary Smt Usha Sharma, Discoms Chairman Shri Bhaskar A Sawant, Secretary Finance (Expenditure) Shri Naresh Thakral and other senior officers of the energy department were present in the meeting.