Kolkata: The price of coal might be revised upwards by the government with Coal India Ltd subsidiaries lobbying for an increase following hardening of prices in the overseas market.
"Coal prices should go up as our costs have gone up and landed cost of imported coal is also high. The notified price of coal has not been revised since mid 2004," Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) Chairman and Managing Director D Chakravarti said.
The Bureau of Pricing and technical department of Coal India were already working on the pricing issue, sources in Coal India said. Their recommendation would be sent to the Coal ministry for final announcement.
Several aspects were brought under consideration before deciding on pricing. Sources said the coal price was likely to rise by at least Rs 150 per tonne from the present notified price of Rs 600 per tonne. Sources said the change in prices might take effect in the next three months.
Currently, the imported coal landed price is USD 65 per tonne at Haldia port. Ash content of imported coal was about 10 per cent while that from Coal India collieries was high.
Ash content of coal from ECL was around 45 per cent, ECL officials said.
However, the ideal stock with Coal India subsidiaries might act as a spoilsport. Stock lying with ECL alone was 5 million tonne during the years 2005-06.
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