Coal Ministry asked to track rail linkage projects.

A Parliamentary panel has asked the Coal Ministry to constantly monitor the proposed rail linkages for the evacuation of coal from mines, to prevent future bottlenecks.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel, in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha recently, said that the production target of one billion tonnes by 2020 is ambitious and to achieve this, an evacuation mechanism is required by enhancing railway infrastructure.

On its part, the Coal Ministry informed the panel that it has made arrangements to hold meetings every month to sort out bottlenecks for three major rail lines - one each in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

'The Committee express its satisfaction at the proposed initiatives being undertaken by the government for development of required railway infrastructure for coal evacuation. However, at the same time emphasis on constant monitoring must be maintained,' the panels' report.


HBL