The environment ministry has cleared 10 coal mining projects with a total capacity of 160 million tonnes a year and four washeries that can handle 31 million tonnes annually.
These include Coal India’s projects for seven mines and two washeries with an annual capacities of 141 million tonnes and 15 million tonnes respectively.
The ministry cleared 14 of the 23 projects it considered.
This is likely to help Coal India meet its targets of producing 750 million tonnes next fiscal requiring achievement of a 14% growth over current year’s 660 million tonnes target, and one billion tonnes target by 2024, a senior company executive said.
The largest project cleared by the ministry was for Coal India subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields’ Kusmunda opencast coal mine in Chhattisgarh, which will touch 62.5 million tonnes at its peak capacity.
Eastern Coalfields received clearance for the Rajmahal opencast coal mine project in Jharkhand with an annual production capacity of nearly 24 million tonnes.
Other large projects of Coal India that received clearances from the environment ministry include subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields’ Lakhanpur opencast project in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district. It has been allowed to produce 21 million tonnes of coal a year for 30 years to 2050.
Northern Coalfields received clearance for its Dudhichua opencast project in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonebhadra district and Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district. It has been allowed to produce 17.5 million tonnes of coal a year till 2050.
Mahanadi Coalfields received clearance for producing 14 million tonnes of coal a year for the next 30 year at its Kulda opencast project in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
Western Coalfields received clearance for 1.85 million tonnes for its Adasa underground opencast mine in Maharashtra. South Eastern Coalfields received clearance for producing nearly one million tonnes for 30 years at its Khairaha underground mine project in Madhya Pradesh.
Additionally, Mahanadi Coalfields and Barat Coking Coal received clearances for washeries of 10 million tonnes per annum and five million tonnes per annum respectively.
Other companies that received clearances are Damodar Valley Corporation for its six-milliontonne tubed coal mines project in Jharkhand, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam for its 11 million tonnes Kente extension opencast coal mine & integrated washery project in Chhattisgarh and Singareni Collieries Company for its two million tonnes Kalyan Khani opencast project in Telangana.
