Guwahati, May 27: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday met Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy in New Delhi, urging the Centre to expand coal mining operations in the state and facilitate seamless coal linkages to Assam’s upcoming thermal power plants.
The meeting, held at Shastri Bhawan, focused on strengthening Assam’s presence in the national coal and mineral landscape. During the discussions, Chief Minister Sarma specifically requested the Union Minister to allow the expansion of operations at the Margherita coal mines, which he said would help increase the state’s revenue and fuel power projects.
Sarma also pushed for the exploration and extraction of new mineral resources in Assam to support economic growth in the region.
“Had a good meeting on securing Assam’s coal and mineral requirements with Hon’ble Union Minister Shri @kishanreddybjp Ji,” Sarma wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “We had an in-depth discussion on building seamless coal linkages to the upcoming thermal power plants in the State; expanding operations at the Margherita coal mines and extraction of new minerals.”
Reddy assured the Chief Minister that the Centre would examine Assam’s demands and extend the necessary support to meet the state’s coal and mineral needs. He emphasized the Centre’s commitment to assisting states in tapping their full mineral potential under the broader coal sector reforms.
Officials from the Ministry of Coal and Mines highlighted that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had recently approved amendments to the Shakti Policy, aimed at simplifying and streamlining coal allocation to thermal power plants through a more transparent mechanism. The updated policy is expected to benefit states like Assam that are planning to expand thermal energy infrastructure.
India recently surpassed a key milestone, producing and dispatching over one billion tonnes of coal in the 2024–25 fiscal year, further underscoring the importance of strengthening state-level participation in coal production and logistics.
Sarma was accompanied by Chief Secretary Ravi Kota, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister K.K. Dwivedi, and Resident Commissioner Kavitha Padmanabhan, along with other senior officials from Assam Bhawan and the Ministry of Coal and Mines.
The meeting is seen as part of the Assam government’s broader effort to unlock new avenues of growth through natural resource development and boost energy security for the state.
