The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of
Coal Regulatory Authority (CRA)
on 20 February
2014.
The proposal for setting up CRA was made by the Union Coal Ministry. The
regulator is a non-statutory entity.
Its orders will be advisory and not mandatory in nature.
It will be empowered to specify the
principles and methodology to determine the price of raw and washed coal and
any other by-product generated during washing. The regulator will not have the
power to decide the price in the domestic market, and Coal India will continue
to enjoy its freedom to set the rates. The regulator will also have no say in
the allocation of coal acreages.
It will not have the power and functions that
are vested with the Coal Controller under the present law. Powers, such as the
settlement of disputes over quality, will be transferred to the regulator once
the bill is passed. However, it will regulate testing methods to declare grades
or quality, specify the procedure for automatic sampling and adjudicate upon
disputes. It will also monitor the closure of mines and the approval of mining
plans. The regulatory authority will go a long way in cleaning up the muck that
has accumulated in this sector. This will make the sector competitive and
increase private participation.
