State-owned Coal India (CIL) has issued work order for setting up four washeries at an estimated cost of Rs. 636 crore, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
“So far work order to set up four washeries, three in BCCL (Bharat Coking Coal Ltd) and one in CCL (Central Coalfields Ltd), has been issued. The total set up cost for these four washeries is estimated to be Rs. 636.32 crore,” Minister of State for Coal Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The Minister further said that the coal PSU envisages setting up 16 washeries out of which six are in BCCL in Jharkhand, four in Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) in Odisha, three in CCL in Jharkhand, one in Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) in West Bengal and two in South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) Chhattisgarh.
The proposed washeries are tentatively scheduled to be set up during 12th and 13th plan period, he added.
Concerned over delays in setting up of washeries by CIL, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that Mr. Patil will monitor to see that such plants are put in place expeditiously.
Government earlier had said that not a single washery of CIL could be commissioned during the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-12) mainly due to delays in securing environmental clearances and non-availability of suitable land.
