State-owned Coal India’s 54 mining projects are running behind schedule mainly on account of delays in obtaining green nod and issues related to rehabilitation and resettlement.
The development assumes significance against the backdrop of Coal India (CIL) eyeing production of 1 billion tonnes by 2023-24.
In its recent report, CIL said that “123 coal projects costing Rs 20 crore and above are in different stages of implementation out of which 69 projects are on schedule and 54 projects are delayed.”
The PSU said that major reasons for the delay in implementation of these projects are delay in obtaining forest clearance (FC) and possession of land and issues related to rehabilitation and resettlement.
The coal behemoth said that 18 mining projects with a total rated capacity of 132.04 million tonnes per annum and a total investment of ₹ 21,244.55 crores were approved by the board of CIL and its arms during 2019-20.
Nine non-mining projects with a sanctioned capital of ₹ 855.52 crore were also approved during the fiscal, it said.
CIL’s three mining projects, with a sanctioned capacity of 9.60 million tonnes per year and sanctioned capital of ₹ 1,052.57 crore were completed during 2019-20.
Two coal projects of the PSU with a sanctioned capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per annum and sanctioned capital of ₹ 623.99 crore began production in the last fiscal.
Coal India accounts for over 80% of domestic coal output. The PSU is eyeing one billion tonnes of production target by 2023-24.
The State-owned firm will pump in over ₹ 1.22 lakh crore on projects related to coal evacuation, exploration and clean coal technologies by FY24, to achieve 1 billion tonnes of fuel output target, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had earlier said.
Out of the proposed spend of over ₹ 1.22 lakh crore, Coal India has planned to invest ₹ 32,696 crore in coal evacuation, ₹ 25,117 crore in mine infrastructure and ₹ 29,461 crore in project development by 2023-24, the minister had said.
