(Minews) - Coal production during the first seven months of current fiscal touched 315.69 million tonnes (MT), according to official figures.
The production target for 2014-15 has been fixed at 630.3 MT.
In the last fiscal, against the target of 604.6 MT, the country's coal output was at 565.6 MT.
The major reasons for not achieving the target are non-availability of environmental and forest clearances in time and delay in physical possession of land, frequent law and order and resettlement and rehabilitation problem, the Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament.
In the year 2012-13, the country achieved an output of 556.4 MT, against 574 MT.
However, the Minister said the focus is on augmenting coal production by facilitating environment and forest clearances, pursuing with the state government assistance in expediting land acquisition and coordinated efforts with Railways for movement of coal.
He said steps have been taken by Coal India and its subsidiaries to augment coal production.
This includes capacity addition from new projects and use of mass production technologies.
The government had earlier said that it is in the process of formulating strategies to almost double the production of Coal India, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal output, to one billion tonnes over the next five years.
