Panaji, Aug 26 (IANS): Over 35,000 tonnes of coal from the Bilaspur coalfields has been procured by the state government for distribution to over half a dozen small scale industries (SSI) units operating here, a senior official said Monday.

Speaking at a press conference held in Panaji, S.N. Parsekar, deputy manager of the Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries development Corporation (GHRSSIDC), said the state government had been allocated over 1 lakh tonne of coal facilitated by the Chhatisgarh-based South Eastern Coal Fields limited.

"We have lifted 35,000 tonnes coal from Bilaspur and are supplying it to eight SSIs in Goa. Most of them are either ferro-alloy or sponge iron units," Parsenkar said.

The 1 lakh tonne coal reserve is the latest allotment to the state government by the union coal ministry, the official said, adding that only small industries whose annual requirement is 4,200 tonnes annually were permitted to be supplied coal by the GHRSSIDC.

"Our coal block's value is around Rs.35 crore," Parsenkar said.