New Delhi, Apr 12 (IANS): The Coal Ministry will take all steps to further expedite domestic coal production and evacuation process, an official said on Wednesday.

Addressing an interactive session with coal block allottees of captive and commercial coal blocks here, Coal Secretary Amritlal Meena said that timely availability of land and other clearances are of paramount importance in ensuring early production of coal from newly allocated blocks.

In his keynote address, he said that the nominated authority in the Coal Ministry is in the process of developing a portal for timely monitoring and resolution of issues in this regard.

The Coal Secretary underlined the need of increasing energy consumption to satisfy the requirements of our rapidly developing economy, as well as reducing reliance on coal imports.

Industry leaders from NTPC Ltd, Vedanta Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, NMDC Ltd, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd and many others participated in the event.