'Adani being benefitted at Punjab’s Cost': AAP & Congress slam Centre over Coal transport route

Centre stated that coal from Eastern India to Punjab must be brought by Sea over Sri Lanka to Dahej/Mundra Ports on the West Coast & then by Rail to Punjab.

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The Ministry of Power a few weeks back instructed the government of Punjab that in order to bring coal from Eastern India to Punjab then it must be brought by Sea over Sri Lanka to Dahej/Mundra Ports on the West Coast & then by Rail to Punjab. The Centre stated that though this decision is costlier than the ARR mode but is cheaper than imposting coal.

This instruction by the Central Government was slammed by Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday. They stated that importing coal through the rail-ship-rail (RSR) formula rather than direct mode is an illogical decision. This would further put three times more financial burden on the state.

Adding to this Congress leader MP Manish Tewari also condemned the decision and stated that this decision has been taken by the Central government in order to support Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani. He tweeted saying that Rail sea Rail Route-RSR port through which the coal will be brought to Jalandhar is owned by Gautam Adani. He further informed that in present situation, cost of Coal by Rail from MCL is Rs 4950 per tonne whereas by RSR it would cost Rs. 6750 per tonne which is a huge difference.

Also, the coal brought by Rail takes only 4-5 days while the coal that will be brought through Rail sea Rail Route will take around 20-25 days. This delay in time will result in a shortage of coal in Punjab which will then result in an increasing number of power cuts. Also, as Punjab Government has offered various subsidies regarding power, they are already under a financial burden and this route will just increase the burden.

Party's chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang accused the BJP of protecting the interests of the Adani Group and took the decision to transport coal by Dahej-Mundra port rather than adopting direct transport. He further said, “decision of the Power Ministry asking Punjab to lift its domestic coal requirement through rail-ship-rail mode has exposed the BJP-led Centre government's anti-Punjab face once again.”

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