Coal India stake sale timing to be decided by FinMin, says Coal Secy

The Coal Ministry on Tuesday said the timing of stake sale in Coal India, which may fetch the exchequer about Rs 24,000 crore, will be decided by the Finance Ministry.

"Call on timing of CIL (Coal India Ltd) divestment will be taken by the Finance Ministry," Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told reporters in the national capital after meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Swarup further said that the Coal Ministry had already signed an agreement with trade unions of CIL and addressed their grievances aptly, adding that there is a Committee to deal with the grievances.

The Coal Ministry had earlier said it would look into the concerns of workers and would form a committee, headed by a Joint Secretary, that will have representation from all five trade unions and officials of CIL and Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL).

The comments by the Coal Secretary comes a day after the Finance Minister said the divestment programme would be pursued on priority and involve more than one state-run company during this period.

There is a proposal to sell 10 per cent stake in Coal India which is likely to get the government Rs 24,000 crore at current prices.

Jaitley had said that the government would sell its shares in public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the ongoing financial year ending March 31, 2015.

Coal workers, who were protesting last week against disinvestment in CIL, had called off their five-day nationwide strike after two days, as the government assured trade unions that the state-run miner will not be privatised and the employees' interest will be protected.

The government had garnered Rs 15,000 crore from the sale of a 10 per cent stake through CIL's initial public offering (IPO) in October 2010.