New Delhi | Oct 05, 2016: The government is working on a proposal to merger the coal and mines ministries as many of the inaccuracies of the coal sector have been set right, coal secretary Anil Swarup said today. Also, the entire paperwork in the coal ministry would be replaced with digitized files within a fortnight, he said.

“Since the coal sector has been transformed with an amazing team work of my ministry in the last two years with all its past inaccuracies and inadequacies set right, it should be made redundant now and merged with the mines ministry. I am working on this direction,” Swarup said at an event organized by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries here.

He informed he would complete two years as Secretary in the coal ministry on 16 October when the Prime Minister had asked him to “clean up the mess” in the coal ministry and make it a performing department. “(That is) a challenge I have successfully accomplished and now the time has also come that all paper works and other such communication in the department of coal should be replaced with digitalization which will begin from 16th of this month,” Swarup said.

Elaborating on the need for improved coal availability, Swarup said his ministry is working in consultation with its shipping counterpart and the Railway Board to intensify movement of coal through ships and a beginning of the initiative has already been made between Paradeep and coastal Tamilnadu.

Shipping secretary Rajive Kumar, who also was present on the occasion, said inter-ministerial work was being accelerated at a fast pace for doubling the capacities of coal movement through ships by 2020 with the state of Andhra taking a lead in this direction.

Kumar said the ambitious Sagarmala Project would be implemented as scheduled and visualized by the government as his ministry has been receiving the required support from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Railway Board and other ministries.

“Port-led development would be one of the priorities of the Sagarmala project for which I seek the support of the private sector for their optimum participation in this initiative of the government as it would drastically curtail logistics cost which is currently estimated at 19.5 of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to less than 10 per cent,” he said. Sagar Mala project aims at modernizing India’s ports and integrating their development with industrial clusters.

(Source: http://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/)