Deepak Goel

New Delhi, Sept. 5 With the private sector participation in coal mining getting the green signal from the Government, the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) has suggested that a regulatory authority for the coal sector be set up that will allocate coal and lignite blocks for exploration and mining.

On the regulatory framework for the sector, the college has suggested that the authority should also be tasked to price coal and lignite.

The regulatory authority can initially be funded through the Consolidated Fund of India. Licence fee, petition fee and other fee can be consolidated in a separate fund to finance the regulator. The budget of the regulator needs to be approved by the Government, the college has suggested.

The legislation must provide for a system that makes the regulator accountable to Parliament.

The regulatory functions of the Ministry of Coal and the coal companies would have to be handed over to the new regulatory authority.

The Government would be entrusted with the policy making under the provisions of the law. The regulator can be vested with an advisory role to the Government in matters relating to the coal sector, it has suggested.

As per a 2006 report of the working group on coal and lignite, 123 coal blocks with 27.25 Bt coal reserves had been allotted to 68 public sector and 55 private sector companies and process of allotment of 20 coal blocks was under way.

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