Piyush Goyal, Union minister of power, coal and new and renewable energy on Saturday said that the target of doubling of coal production and energy generation is achievable by 2019.
“After the allocation of coal blocks, I believe that double the coal production and energy generation are achievable targets. We have started the process of taking the targets into account”, he said through a video address at a conclave organised by a leading local media channel, OTv.
The Union minister said, lakhs of crores of rupees will flow into the coal bearing states by the auction of coal blocks through e-auction.
After the Supreme Court’s land mark decision to cancel 204 coal blocks, the incumbent government is auctioning the blocks through e-auction mode.
For addressing the coal needs of the nation, the Union government has brought in an ordinance to auction the coal blocks.
On the basis of the ordinance, the coal blocks will be auctioned in such a manner that the power plants, steel plants, captive end users, cement factories will get adequate coal, said Goyal.
States like Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhatishgarh, West Bengal will reap maximum benefits, he added.
For transmission and distribution of power, Centre has plans to invest Rs three lakh crore through two schemes- Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and integrated power development by way of grants to the states.
Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) has two components namely- to separate agriculture and non-agriculture feeders, facilitating judicious fostering of supply to agricultural and non-agricultural consumers in rural areas and strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, including metering of distribution transformers/feeders/consumers.
The Union government has set a target to provide 24/7 electricity to every household, industries and adequate power supply to agriculture lands by 2019.
