Lok Sabha Question No. 2812 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Coal Reserves
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Debasree Chaudhuri, Poonam (Mahajan) Vajendla Rao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2812

## ANSWERED ON 15.12.2021

## Coal reserves

## 2812. MS. DEBASREE CHAUDHURI: SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN :

Will the MINISTER OF COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) the total reserves of coal in the country and its average consumption per year during the last five years and the current year?
- (b) the  steps  being  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Union  Government  to  find  alternate sources of energy so that consumption of coal is reduced?
- (c) whether the coal reserves have increased during the last five years in the country;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the steps taken/being taken to improve the domestic coal production?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES (SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

- (a): The  total  estimated  coal  reserves  (resources)  in  the  country  is  3,52,125.97  Million  Tonne (MT) as on 01.04.2021. The average consumption of coal during the last five years and the current year is as under:-

(In million tonnes)

| Year             |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |   2021-22 (upto Sep.21) |
|------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-------------------------|
| Coal Consumption |   836.931 |   898.252 |   968.142 |   955.713 |   905.883 |                  486.99 |

- (b): The  Government  has  set  a  target  for  installing  175  GW  of  Renewable  Energy  capacity (excluding large hydro) by the year 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from Biomass and 5 GW from Small Hydro.
- (c): Yes sir.
- (d): Coal reserves(resources) increased from  315148.81 MT as on 01.04.2017 to   352125.97 MT as on 01.04.2021.
- (e): The  following  steps  have  been  taken  by  Government  to  further  improve  the  domestic  coal production:
- i. Commercial Auction of coal on revenue share mechanism: Auction of commercial mining on  Revenue  Sharing  Mechanism  was  launched  on  18.06.2020  by  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister. Under this scheme, total of 2 tranches have been successfully completed and third Tranche is currently  under  process.  From  these  two  tranches  total  of  28  coal  mines  have  been successfully auctioned for which Vesting order have been signed for 27 coal mines.
- ii. Allowed  sale  of  excess  coal  production :  The  Ministry  of  Coal  has  amended  Mineral Concession  Rules,  1960  with  a  view  to  allowing  sale  of  coal  or  lignite,  on  payment  of additional amount, by the lessee of a captive mine up to 50 percent of the total coal or lignite produced in a financial year, after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the  mine.  Earlier  this  year,  the  Mines  and  Minerals  (Development  &  Regulation)  Act  had been amended to this effect. This is applicable for both the private and public sector captive mines. With this amendment, the Government has paved the way for releasing of additional coal  in  the  market  by  greater  utilization  of  mining  capacities  of  captive  coal  and  lignite blocks, which were being only partly utilized owing to limited production of coal for meeting only their captive needs.
- iii. Rolling auction : In order to expedite the process for conducting auction and to carryout more rounds of auction in a year, a mechanism of rolling auctions of coal mines has been planned. Under this mechanism, upon completion of the electronic auction process of a tranche, the next tranche of auction would be launched for following mines:
- a.  Mines where no bid or only single bid was received in the previous tranche of auction (except  for  those  mines  where  Ministry  of  Coal  decides  to  go  for  second  attempt  of auction)
- b . New mines, if any, identified by Ministry of Coal

In  the  current  III  tranche  of  commercial  auction,  total  of  48  coal  mines  have  been rolled over from the II tranche of mines.

- iv. Single  Window  Clearance : The  Union  government  has  already  launched  Single  Window Clearance portal on 11.01.2021 for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India. Now, the complete process shall be facilitated through Single Window Clearance Portal, which will map not only the relevant application formats, but also process flow for grant of approval or clearances.
- v. Coal India Ltd. has envisaged a coal production programme of one Billion Tonne from CIL mines  by  the  year  2023-24.   CIL  has  taken  the  following  steps  to  achieve  the  target  of augmentation of coal production capacity:
1. 15 Projects identified with a Capacity of about 160 MTPA (Million Tonnes per Annum) to be operated by Mine Developer cum Operator mode.
2. Capacity addition through special dispensation in Environment Clearance under clause 7(ii) of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006
3. CIL has taken steps to upgrade the mechanized coal transportation and loading system under 'First Mile Connectivity' projects.

-----