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Patna,(BiharTimes): The coal-linkages politics has taken a new turn. While chief minister Nitish Kumar had repeatedly said that the Centre was not providing coal linkages for investment in power sector his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday had something else to say.

He conceded that the Centre had provided coal linkages to the state by granting it mining rights to meet the needs of four thermal power plants but added that the coal blocks provided by the Centre were of no use for the thermal power plants. They need non-coking coal mines but the one at Sariya and Koyatand given exclusively to Bihar in August 2006 is coking coal variety, which is more useful to the steel industry for smelting purposes. Apart from this, the mines were of the underground types and not the open cast ones needing new technology found only in Australia and other foreign countries.

He said that the mining operations in the other blocks had not yet been started because they had been allotted jointly to both Bihar and Jharkhand with separate allotments of coal lift from the mines concerned.

The deputy chief minister said a joint-venture company, Jharkhand Bihar Colliery Limited, was formed in 2009 to get the mining operations going. But t political instability in Jharkhand led to the delay.

It needs to be recalled that the Union minister of state for coal Sriprakash Jaiswal, on a visit to Bihar on Wednesday, said that the Centre had provided coal linkages to Bihar for four power projects––two units at Nabinagar and one each at Muzaffarpur and Barh––under the 11th Five-Year Plan.
He had also said the demands for coal linkages with regard to the new projects would be facilitated during the 12th Five-Year Plan, beginning 2012.

related article:

Story of Coal Linkages for Proposed Bihar Power Projects

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Nitish is correct in his submission. And even when Mr Sushil Kumar Modi has explained so elaborately, people in media have been busy putting different spins around it. Fact is a little bizarre.
 
Nitish's submission are always  in regards to power projects at Buxar, Lakhisarai and Pirpainti which has been mooted as PPP power projects to be developed through tariff based bidding. These could have been showcase projects for Bihar government. However, coal ministry has so far denied linkages for these power projects as has been even admitted by Mr Shri Prakash Jayshawal. Defense he forwarded was that these are 12th plan projects and hence need to be considered latter. Further, he adds that state has not provided for water linkages and lands. Quite a spacious argument indeed! Everyone from Nitish to Modi to Jayshawal is saying the same thing but media is not getting the message correctly or perhaps does not wish to get it right. Nitish has already pointed out that federal ministry is not allowing drawing of water of Ganga for these projects. This answers one of the points raised by Mr Jayshawal. As for the land, state has already identified it and done preliminary assessment. However, land acquisition can start only after coal linkages and water are tied up. As for these being 12th plan projects, it is correct as given the time when these were conceptualized, these projects could have come up only by second year of 12th five year plan. However, even federal power ministry which has recommended these projects to coal ministry is of the opinion that these projects should be granted coal linkage so that continuity could be maintained in power projects coming up. Coal ministry is somewhat the culprit as it seems to suggest that all 12th plan power projects should get coal linkage in 2011-12. If Mr. Jayshawal is suggesting that all 12th plan power project should come up only in the last year of 12th plan? Any power projects will take at least four year to materialize even in the best case scenario. And yes, UMPP’s will continue to get coal linkages all through this period. Bihar should also push for UMPP perhaps clubbing all these separate projects in a single one to be set up at Pirpainti. Mr Jayshawal, what ever you say, you don't have a case here.
 
Here lies the answer to claim made by Mr Lallan Singh as well. Yes sir, power ministry is not having any proposal pending for coal linkages but, in fact, these are pending with coal ministry as has been accepted by hon'ble minister. You have been misled by the federal administration in presuming that no proposal for coal linkages is pending with federal government. They have done so without technically misrepresenting the fact. You ought to have known which ministry to ask this question.
 
On the allocated coal linkages, yes now it seems Mr Jayshawal has cleared coal linkages for Kanti and Barauni extension projects apart, off course, from NTPC led New Nabinagar project. Other project, that is Nabinagar, is any way railway project and does not concern state government. On his contention regarding coal blocks allocated, Mr Jayshawal should have known better that these were allocated for meeting industrial and commercial need of the state and for existing power projects of the state electricity board. That's why these are not linked to new power projects as clarified by Mr Modi. Same has been the norm with all other states and Bihar is not any exception. So, there is a clear attempt by Mr. Jayshawal to obfuscate this issue here.
 
In nutshell, it is clear here that Mr Shriprakash Jayshawal has at best skirted this issue of coal linkages skillfully, or at worst, attempted to befool the people and media of Bihar.

Prateek K Anand