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Half-Truths on Coal
Are overambitious expansion programmes under the Plans, prices pegged at unremuneratively low levels, and transport bottlenecks, the only basic problems of the coal mining industry? Or have the presidents of the Indian Mining Association (IMA) and the Colliery Owners' Association (COA) been extravagantly successful in representing all units of the heterogeneous coal mining industry? If these were the only major problems of the industry they could be more easily solved: Alter a period of shortage, in the Third Plan the railways have developed an excess capacity of approximately 15 per cent. Allowing coal prices to rise would not have any significant impact on industrial prices generally since coal costs account for only about 23 per cent of manufacturing costs. And, with the downward revision of most Fourth Plan programmes, coal targets too could be adequately lowered.
Are overambitious expansion programmes under the Plans, prices pegged at unremuneratively low levels, and transport bottlenecks, the only basic problems of the coal mining industry? Or have the presidents of the Indian Mining Association (IMA) and the Colliery Owners' Association (COA) been extravagantly successful in representing all units of the heterogeneous coal mining industry? If these were the only major problems of the industry they could be more easily solved: Alter a period of shortage, in the Third Plan the railways have developed an excess capacity of approximately 15 per cent. Allowing coal prices to rise would not have any significant impact on industrial prices generally since coal costs account for only about 23 per cent of manufacturing costs. And, with the downward revision of most Fourth Plan programmes, coal targets too could be adequately lowered.
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