Ramesh's note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh comes in wake of coal and power ministries blaming him for failing to meet their production targets and is part of the ongoing slinging match going on between the UPA ministers. Coal production in first four years of the 11th plan had been around 6.2 % as against the target of 9.5 % whereas the power generation had been only 63 % of the target for the plan period.
Instead of taking the blame, Ramesh told the Prime Minister that the two ministries have failed to deliver and also caused ecological loss.
He even spoke to Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai to counter coal ministry's claim that railways was not providing enough rakes to lift coal from pitheads. As a result, unlifted coal at pitheads was 70 million tones in 2010-11. Sahai told him that railways had to lift 40 % of the coal production which it was doing without fail. Read the full report here.
Source: Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi.
