54 mining projects of CIL behind schedule due to delay in getting green nod

• Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal said that a total of 18 mining projects with a total rated capacity of 132.04 million tonnes per annum were approved in FY20

• MDO document for abandoned/discontinued mines is under finalisation, said CIL in its latest annual report

New Delhi: A total of 54 mining projects are running behind schedule due to delays in obtaining forest clearance and because of issues pertaining to rehabilitation and resettlement, state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) has said in its recent annual report. In the report, Coal India has 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 news assumes significance because the state-run coal miner is aiming to push its coal production to 1 Billion Tonnes (BT) by 2023-24. 

18 mining projects with capacity of 132.04 MTPA approved in FY20

Coal India Chairman Pramod Agrawal said that a total of 18 mining projects with a total rated capacity of 132.04 million tonnes per annum and a total investment of Rs 21,244.55 crore were approved by the board of CIL and its subsidiaries during FY2019-20. "02 Projects with a sanctioned capacity of 4.5 MTY and sanctioned capital of Rs 623.99 Crores have started coal production during the year 2019-20," said the report. It added that three mining projects, with a sanctioned capacity of 9.60 million tonnes per year and sanctioned capital of Rs 1,052.57 crore were completed during 2019-20.

Also read: India needs an energy policy that integrates RE and coal: Coal Secretary

Coal India eases tender norms for projects up to Rs 50 lakh

"Pre-Qualification for Tenders value up to Rs 50.00 Lakh has been removed for entry of new Bidder without any Technical and Financial credentials in works and services. The Requirement of Work Experience has been reduced and work experience with wider domain has been allowed for more participation and competitive bidding," said the CIL Chairman.

Coal India to float tenders for 10 more mines shortly

To make a quantum jump in coal production, MDO documents for OC, UG Mines have been finalised with valuable input from all stakeholders approved by the CIL Board. Four tenders (CCL-3, MCL-1) with 20-25 years contract period, have been floated, the report said. Tenders for 10 more mines would be floated shortly. MDO document for abandoned/discontinued mines is under finalisation with advanced mining technology to augment the production further, said the coal behemoth.

The capital expenditure for the year 2020-21 has been set at Rs 10,000 crore. CIL has planned to invest substantial amount in diversification projects like solar power, revival of fertilizer plants, coal gasification, CBM, rail wagon procurement etc during 2020-21, said the Chairman.

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