Bermo (Bokaro), Rakesh Verma: Coal India PM Prasad, the new chairman of the There are many challenges before Mr. Prasad, who has a long experience in the mining sector in the public sector. Coal India’s production capacity is to be one billion (billion) tonnes by the financial year 2025-26. Coal India’s production target in the current financial year is 780 million tonnes. Decision to invest Rs 1.22 lakh crore on about 500 projects related to coal extraction, infrastructure, project development, exploration and clean coal technologies with the objective of achieving Coal India’s one billion tonne production capacity and making the country self-sufficient in coal It was taken two or three years ago.
Target to achieve one billion tonne production capacity
To achieve one billion tonne production capacity, Coal India will need about 20 thousand hectares of additional land. Coal India’s subsidiary CCL will also have to double its production to achieve 135 million tonnes of production capacity in the coming two-three years. About 21 hundred hectares of additional land will be required.
Ground clearance is the biggest problem
According to the information, Coal India had already set a target of investing about Rs 14,200 crore in two phases in 49 First Mile Connectivity Projects (Sampark Projects) by the year 2023-24. First Mile Connectivity means ensuring transportation to carry coal from the mine to the dispatch point. Land is currently the biggest problem for Coal India to achieve one billion tonnes of production capacity. Expansion of many mines is hampered due to lack of land clearance. Files related to this have been doing the rounds in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India for years. The matter is also pending with the state governments. Apart from this, due to non-availability of CTO (conceit to operate), many mines have been shutting down from time to time.
Watch the exclusive interview of PM Prasad, the new chairman of Coal India, here is his future plan
coal india scheme
Last year Coal India brought CIL Annuity Scheme. In this, there is a proposal to give money to the displaced people by not giving them jobs in exchange of land. Protesting this, many companies of Coal India have been displaced. Displaced leaders say that Coal India will have to fix the policy. There is a need to make the rule of taking land a little flexible. Coal India should fix RR policy on the lines of Odisha.
Emphasis on increasing production through MDO model
Coal India has identified 15 greenfield projects for operation through the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model in the coming year to increase coal production and reduce dependence on imports. For this, an investment plan of about Rs 36,600 crore has been made. By the end of the year 2024, an investment of Rs 17 thousand crore is estimated. Among the projects identified for mining through MDO, there are 12 open cast mines and three underground mines. The duration of the contract will be 25 years. If the capacity of the mines is less than this, then the agreement will be for life time. Coal India will acquire the land after the arrival of MDO in every company of Coal India. All the work from coal production to dispatch will be done through MDO. Only the name of the company of Coal India will remain. The money that will come in lieu of the work will come in the name of the company and the company will pay the amount to the MDO at the rate of bidding. At present, the new projects of Coal India company CCL, besides Chandragupta and Sanghamitra mines, Kotre-Bansatpur-Pachmo have been awarded after completing the tender process to run them through MDO. Apart from this, three underground mines Piparwar, Parez East and one other will also be operated from MDO. Apart from this, increasing production from private coal blocks will also be a challenge. Last year, out of 700 million tonnes, only 100 million tonnes were produced by private companies.
Coal import has to be reduced
Reducing the import of coal from abroad will also be a challenge before the new chairman. Every year Coal India imports about 200 million tonnes of coal. Coking coal is imported from Indonesia, Australia and America. While the country has a reserve of 350 billion tonnes of coal. Coal mining can be done with full capacity for the next 40 years, yet coal will not end. The Central Government has brought the National Steel Policy. Under this, by the year 2030-31, 300 million tonnes of steel has to be prepared every year. For this, 180 million non coking coal will be required per year.
The biggest challenge is to reduce the import of coal, said CCL CMD PM Prasad
Continuous changes in the energy sector
The biggest global challenge of today is climate change. Its effect is increasing. To deal with this challenge, vigorous efforts are being made to reduce carbon emissions. Continuous changes are also taking place in the energy sector. Efforts are being made to reduce dependence on fossil fuels like coal, petrol, diesel. Efforts are being made to expand solar and wind energy. At present, the dependence on coal in the country is more. Coal is used for about 45 percent of primary energy and 70 percent of electricity production. The International Energy Agency estimates that by the year 2040, India’s dependence on coal will come down from 70 to 30 percent. After 30-40 years, solar energy will come in India as an alternative to coal. The new chairman PM Prasad believes that the future of coal is completely secure for 20-25 years. However, now the coal sector is also moving towards renewable energy and work is going on to set up a 3,000 MW plant. In the coming time, along with the employment crisis, economic challenges will also come to the fore in the coal industry.
