Coal Minister writes to CMs, Chief Secretaries of States to ensure coal prices are not hiked

The Government has written to the Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries of States to ensure that coal prices are not increased, Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the seventh tranche of the auction for critical and strategic minerals and the National DMF Summit on Monday (March 23, 2026).

“We (the government) have taken proactive measures,” he stated, elaborating, “The [Coal] secretary has spoken to Chief Secretaries of States, and I too have written to Chief Ministers of states that there is no shortage of coal in the country; thus, there should be no increase in prices of coal.”

Mr. Reddy was responding to queries about the increase in coal prices globally amidst the West Asia crisis.

The Union Minister, specifically noting there being no shortage of coal in the country, said the onus is on State Governments to ensure the prices are kept in check. “If prices [of coal] increase, the onus is on State Governments to ensure the prices are kept in check,” he stated.

Essential to note that the Union Ministry of Coal had informed on Saturday (March 21, 2026) that the country had successfully produced 1 billion tonnes of coal for the second year in a row.

Addressing queries on production, Mr. Reddy stated, “In my assessment, we have 80 days of coal stocks. In fact, we [the country] are short of space for storing the coal we have produced. Moreover, we cannot store it for long since it is combustible, and there could be a decline in its quality.” He summed up by saying, “We are producing more than the country’s requirements.”