It appears that the draft coal policy began with a text heavily biased towards private investment and facilitating large margins of profit for the mining companies. Ideally, there should not be a problem with the private investor making large margins but not at the cost of national interests or doing away with all kinds of binding safeguards to protect the environment and livelihoods of thousands of people who would be displaced

The much-talked-about 8th draft coal policy was not approved at the Advisory Council meeting due to strong differences over the issues of payment of royalty, acquisition of land, and quite a large number of ambiguities in it.

Sources at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources told The New Nation yesterday that the draft coal policy was sent back to the ministry concerned for further scrutiny.

Besides, the meeting of the Council of Advisers held on Wednesday in Chittagong suggested to make the draft coal policy smaller in size removing all the ambiguities.

If the government had not completed the 300 MW Kerawalapitiya electricity generation plant by 2008, Sri Lanka would have experienced a major power crisis with constant power cuts by 2009. The cost of the plant is around US $ 300 million and the government assures that there would be no power cuts in 2009. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of this month.
The Kerawalapitiya power plant will generate 200 MW under its first phase and add it to the National Grid and in the second phase it will generate the other 100 MW in 2009, the Power and Energy Ministry said.

If the government had not completed the 300 MW Kerawalapitiya electricity generation plant by 2008, Sri Lanka would have experienced a major power crisis with constant power cuts by 2009. The cost of the plant is around US $ 300 million and the government assures that there would be no power cuts in 2009. The plant is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of this month.
The Kerawalapitiya power plant will generate 200 MW under its first phase and add it to the National Grid and in the second phase it will generate the other 100 MW in 2009, the Power and Energy Ministry said.

New fuel for Kolkata vehicles kolkata may soon become the first city in India to have vehicles running on methane if a deal between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ongc), a private gas distribution company, and the West Bengal government goes through. ongc and Calcutta Compressions and Liquefaction Engineering, a Kolkata-based company, signed a memorandum of understanding on July 10

The eighth draft coal policy that emphasises immediate government-led action in coal sector to meet the country's surging energy demand is likely to be placed before the caretaker government's cabinet today.

The draft proposes to set up a "mine Bangla" in line with Petrobangla by 2010 to spearhead different mining schemes. This government body will take strategic partners from private sector through open tenders for quick development of the schemes.

DIVERSIFICATION PLAN Law Kumar Mishra | TNN Dhanbad: The public sector company Coal India Ltd has decided to enter into power production and has signed three MoUs with different electricty boards in Uttar Pradesh, Chatisgarh and Tamil Nadu for setting up 1000 megawatt capacity plants in the three states. However, the implementation of the power projects would be taken up after three years as CIL has resolved to concentrate on increasing coal production, CIL chairman, Partho S Bhattacharya told the TOI on Monday.