Lok Sabha Question No. 1724 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-13
Subject: Coal Reserves
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1724 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2019

## Coal Reserves

## 1724.   SHRI PRHALAD SINGH PATEL:

Will the MINISTER OF COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is using latest techniques to explore the fresh coal reserves;
- (b) if so, the details of fresh coal reserves explored in the country, State-wise since 2014;
- (c) whether the Government has slowed down the exploration of fresh coal reserves in the country;
- (d) if so, the details and the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the reasons for the Government not taking initiative to avail technical knowhow from the specialised agencies of other countries having proven record for coal exploration?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COAL, FINANCE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS ( SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a): Latest  techniques  are  used  to  explore  the fresh  coal  reserves  like  Hi-Tech Hydrostatic drills  for  drilling,  2D  &  3D  seismic  survey  with  Vibrosis  &  interpretation  with  Paradigm software,  satellite  imagery  for  identification  of  forest  and  probable  coal  bearing  areas  & modern software such as AutoCAD, ArcGIS and Minex are used involving expert Geologist and Mine planner which is equivalent to industry best practices worldwide.

(b): State-wise addition of Geological Resources of Coal in India from 2014-15 to 2017-18 is as follows:-

## State-wise addition of Geological Resources of Coal ( 2014-15 to 2017-18)

|                | (in Million Tonnes)   | (in Million Tonnes)   | (in Million Tonnes)   | (in Million Tonnes)   |
|----------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
| STATE          | 2014-15               | 2015-16               | 2016-17               | 2017-18               |
| West Bengal    | 30.40                 | --                    | 69.12                 | --                    |
| Madhya Pradesh | 867.44                | --                    | 747.19                | --                    |
| Chhattisgarh   | 2192.116              | 1030.00               | 101.80                | --                    |
| Orissa         | 644.61                | --                    | --                    | 854.36                |
| Telengana      | --                    | --                    | --                    | 39.40                 |
| Nagaland       | --                    | --                    | 124.33                | --                    |

(c)& (d): No Sir. Government has not slowed down the exploration of fresh coal reserves in the country. Exploration of coal resources in the country is a continuous process. The drilling done by Central Mine Planning and Design Institute in last 4 years for exploration is given in below table:

## Drilling in Lakh Meter

| Item                         |   2014-15 |   2015-16 |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |
|------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Detailed Exploration of Coal |      8.28 |      9.94 |     11.26 |     13.66 |

(e): Central  Mine  Planning  and  Design  Institute  on  behalf  of  Ministry  of  Coal,  has  taken initiatives to avail technical knowhow from the specialized agencies by floating global tenders for coal exploration to facilitate specialized agencies of other countries having proven record of coal exploration to participate in the tender.

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