Coal India Ltd (CIL), which witnessed a 6-per cent drop in production at around 241 million tonnes (mt) during April-September, is hopeful of regaining its production tempo in the remaining part of the year.

Torrential rainfall across locations affected the company’s coal production and off-take, particularly in September, said a press statement issued by the company.

CIL’s coal offtake was down around 5 per cent to 276 mt during April-September 2019 compared to the same period last year.
“This year, the monsoon severely dented our production, especially in September, inundating our mines,” said a senior official at CIL.

However, “the company has the resilience to bounce back, and we are confident of getting back on track, ramping up production and stepping up supplies by the end of the month,” he added.

For the financial year 2019-20, Coal India is envisaging an 8.5 per cent growth in production at around 660 million tonnes (mt), says its MoU with the Coal Ministry.

CIL had registered 7 per cent growth in production at 606.89 mt in 2018-19, around 3 mt short of its planned target of 610 mt last fiscal.

Coal stock at power plants as on September 30, 2019, stood around 17.3 mt — which is 6.3 mt more as compared to the same period last year. This would be a sufficient cushion for about 11 days.