Coal Secretary stresses on need to increase production of dry-fuel

Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain on Friday stressed the need for increasing the output and dispatches of dry fuel in a sustainable manner to make the country self-reliant in the energy sector.

While interacting with senior officials of Coal India-arm Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL), the secretary also called for the adoption of innovative techniques while mining to lessen its impact on the environment.

He also asked the PSU to adopt business diversification strategies.

Jain said NCL is eager to promote sustainable coal mining which is getting reflected in the recent initiatives by the coal miniratna, the coal ministry said in a statement.

Jain along with Joint Secretary Vismita Tej was on a visit to NCL to assess the overall performance of the company. NCL CMD Bhola Singh and other senior officials were also present.

Jain also laid the foundation stone for a 50 MW solar power plant in the Nigahi Area of Madhya Pradesh. The plant will be set up over an area of 129.35 hectares of land with a total power generating capacity of 94 million units per year and will lead to reducing carbon emission by 78020 tonnes per year.

The generated power will be used for operational and other purposes by NCL.

The company is set to achieve 273-megawatt power generation in the coming time from renewable sources to achieve the target of Net Zero.

Jain visited the Nigahi open cast coal mine and oversaw the mine operation. He also inspected the site of the ongoing First Mile Connectivity Project at Jayant Area. NCL is working on nine First Mile Connectivity Projects with an investment of more than Rs 3,100 crore out of which two projects have already been completed.

With the completion of these FMC projects by FY'24, NCL will be capable to despatch entire coal produced through eco-friendly and mechanized mode.

NCL produces more than 122 million tonnes of coal annually from its 10 highly mechanized opencast mines based in Singrauli and Sonbhadra districts of MP and UP states.