State-owned CIL on Wednesday reported a 3.9 per cent decline in production to 48.97 million tonnes (MT) in September.

The drop in production comes in spite of the government making efforts to increase coal output to bring down the import of dry fuel.

The company's output was 50.94 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a filing to the BSE.

However, no reasons were given by the company for the decline.

CIL subsidiaries, which registered a drop in production in September, are Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

There was decline in production in North Eastern Coalfields (NEC), a unit of Coal India.

According to industry experts, heavy rains and waterlogging during monsoon create operational difficulties in mining, leading to a drop in coal production

Coal production during the April-September period also dropped to 329.14 MT, over 341.35 MT in the year-ago period.

CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

Coal India Ltd is targeting a production of 875 MT and a dispatch target of 900 MT for 2025-26. This ambitious production goal aims to meet rising power demand and reduce reliance on imported coal.