NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Coal has urged the Uttar Pradesh government to expedite the development of the Saharpur Jamarpani captive coal block in Jharkhand, which has reserves of over 973 million tonnes but remains unoperational more than a decade after its allotment. The block, located in Dumka district, was allotted to Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) on August 13, 2015, under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, to meet the fuel requirements of the state’s thermal power projects. The Ministry said that 14 other power-sector captive coal blocks allotted on or after Saharpur Jamarpani have already been operationalised. It has advised the state to take urgent steps to develop the block to reduce dependence on external coal supplies and strengthen long-term fuel security.
The Ministry’s remarks came amid recent reports of coal supply-related power shortages in Uttar Pradesh. However, it said that as of September 15, 2026, none of UPRVUNL’s thermal power plants was in the critical-stock category, with coal stocks rising from 7.25 lakh tonnes on September 1 to 8.41 lakh tonnes on September 15. During the preceding seven days, average daily coal receipts stood at around 0.90 lakh tonnes against consumption of approximately 0.83 lakh tonnes, while Coal India Limited (CIL) supplied an average of about 17.7 rakes per day over the preceding 10 days. The Ministry also pointed to unloading constraints at some UPRVUNL plants, which can restrict rake placement and further stock augmentation. With the current-month plant load factor at around 48%, it said lower generation cannot be attributed solely to inadequate coal availability and called for operational constraints at generating stations to be addressed alongside faster development of the Saharpur Jamarpani block.
