Green clearance given to 83 projects of Coal India in last two years: Govt

Green clearances have been accorded to 83 mining projects of state-owned Coal India Ltd in the last two years, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

To ensure adequate supply of coal to various sectors, including power, the government has set a target of 1 billion tonnes coal production for Coal India Ltd (CIL).

"To achieve 1 BT (billion tonne) coal production by FY 2024-25, the progress made so far by Coal India Ltd. (CIL) from April 2020 to June 2022, (includes)... environmental clearance granted for 60 proposals with an incremental capacity of 104.86 Mty (million tonnes per year). Stage-I forest clearance granted for nine proposals involving 934.96 Ha of forest land.

"Stage-II forest clearance granted for 14 proposals involving 2580.68 Ha of forest land," Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a reply to the Lok Sabha.

The minister further said that 53 project reports, including expansion projects, have been approved by Coal India and its arm for building additional production capacity of dry fuel.

"These projects will add additional capacity of about 278 Mty...and projected to contribute additional production of about 102 Mt by FY 24-25," Joshi explained.

Work awarded for six Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) Projects with aggregate capacity of 96.74 million tonnes per year.

Six first mile connectivity projects of coal handling plant (CHP), silos have been commissioned with an aggregate capacity of 82 million tonnes per year, Joshi said, adding that four rail connectivity projects have been commissioned.

The minister had earlier said that India needs to increase domestic coal production in order to fulfill the ever-growing demand for fuel and reduce import dependency.

"The need for coal is going to double by 2040 with the rise in electric vehicles and the increased demand for electricity. Therefore, we need to ramp up our coal production to meet this growing energy requirement," Joshi had said at an investors' meeting in Mumbai.

He had said the target of the coal ministry is to minimise the import of thermal coal and to make the country self-reliant in the sector.