With the ongoing coal crisis showing no signs of abating, the Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME) has sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s intervention for normalizing the situation within the state and sustaining industry operations.

“The shortage, a result of the intermittent coal supplies to Captive Power Plants (CPPs) based industries in Odisha, threatens the viability of industries that form the backbone of the state’s Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), employment providers to lakhs of people of the State, Swastik Swain, Secretary-general, OASME, urged the Chief Minister Patnaik in a letter.

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Despite the continuous efforts of the state government towards industrial development, the CPP-based industries in Orissa who are heavily dependent on coal as their primary raw material are unable to run smoothly due to the current situation, the letter said.

Since August 2021, the CPPs are getting just 40-50% of the required coal supplies, creating a backlog of over 1500 coal rakes, since most of the available coal rakes are being diverted away from CPPs. This struggle to receive uninterrupted coal supplies for continued operations has brought down the industry to a standstill and left it with no time to devise any mitigation plan to continue sustainable operations.

Due to the aforesaid reason, the operational power plants are forced to operate at reduced power generation levels, creating a huge risk of closure of the plant, OASME stated.

Highlighting the natural advantages enjoyed by the state, the OASME said, “Odisha holds 25% of the total coal deposit of the country. Out of the 150 million tons of coal produced through Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCA), 65% is being transferred to other states and only 35% is reserved for Orissa industries, against the actual minimum requirement of 55% for local CPPs.

“Such acute shortage is creating a dangerous situation for the manufacturing sector, threatening the shutdown of MSMEs, leaving the state deprived of domestic value addition and a bad impact on global investment.”

Seeking governmental support, the OASME’s letter called for the Chief Minister’s personal intervention to help normalize the situation.

Prompt action needed to be taken for the immediate resumption of coal and rake supplies from MCA, to help meet the 100% of coal requirement of the local CPP-based industries of Orissa.

The timely action could be in the greater interest of thousands of MSMEs and save lakhs of people from the loss of employment and livelihoods.