Lok Sabha Question No. 902 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: New Areas for Coal Mining
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Veena Devi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 902 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2024

## New Areas for Coal Mining

## †902. SHRIMATI VEENA DEVI:

## Will the Minister of Coal be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps to increase the domestic production of coal and reduce coal import;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of coal mines closed down during the last three years and the coal mines likely to be closed down after completion of extraction work during the ensuing three years;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any steps to find out new areas for mining; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)  &  (b): Yes  Sir. Most  of  the  requirement  of  coal  in  the  country  is  met  through indigenous  production  / supply.  The  focus  of  the  Government  is  on  increasing  the domestic production of coal and to eliminate non-essential import of coal in the country. In the year 2022-23, coal production increased by 14.77% over the previous year.  During  the  current year  till  January'  2024,  domestic  coal  production has increased by around 12.11% compared to the same period of last year.

The country has witnessed a big leap in overall coal production from 566 MT in FY 2013-14 to 893 MT in FY 2022-23 with a CAGR of 5.2%

The steps taken by the Government to make the country self-sufficient in the production of coal are as under:

- i. Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks.
- ii. Enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 for enabling captive mines owners (other than atomic minerals) to sell up to 50% of their annual mineral (including coal) production in the open market after meeting the requirement  of  the  end  use  plant  linked  with  the  mine  in  such  manner  as  may  be prescribed by the Central Government on payment of such additional amount.
- iii. Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalization of coal mines.
- iv. Project Monitoring Unit for hand-holding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals / clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
- v. Auction  of  commercial  mining  on  revenue  sharing  basis  launched  in  2020.  Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50 % on final offer would be allowed for the quantity of coal produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Also, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction (rebate of 50 % on final offer) have been granted.
- vi. Terms and conditions of commercial coal mining are very liberal with no restriction on utilization  of  coal,  allowing  new  companies  to  participate  in  the  bidding  process, reduced  upfront  amount,  adjustment  of  upfront  amount  against  monthly  payment, liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalize the coal mines, transparent bidding process, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route and revenue sharing model based on the National Coal Index.

In  addition  to  above,  coal  companies  have  also  taken  following  steps  to  increase  the domestic coal production.

- i. Coal  India  Limited  (CIL)  has  identified  and  initiated  actions  for  fulfilling  all  the resources required like Environment Clearance / Forest Clearance, land acquisition, evacuation infrastructures such as mechanized loading through Coal Handling Plant (CHP)  /  SILO,  Rail  Projects  etc.  CIL  is  in  constant  endeavour  to  enhance  its  coal production through expansion of mines (brownfield projects), opening of new mines (greenfield projects), mechanization and modernization of its mines, both Underground (UG)  &  Opencast  (OC).  In  its  UG  mines,  CIL  is  adopting  Mass  Production Technologies (MPT), mainly with Continuous Miners (CMs), wherever feasible. CIL has also planned Highwalls (HW) mines. In its OC mines, CIL already has State-ofthe- Art technology in its high capacity Excavators, Dumpers and Surface Miners.
- ii. Regular liaison is being undertaken by Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) for grounding of new projects and operation of existing projects. SCCL has initiated action for developing infrastructure for evacuation of coal like CHPs, Crushers, Mobile Crushers, Pre-weigh-bins etc.

Measures taken by the Government to substitute coal imports:

- i. The ACQ has been increased upto 100% of the normative requirement, in the cases where the ACQ was either reduced to 90% of normative requirement (non-coastal) or where the ACQ was reduced to 70% of normative requirement (coastal power plants). Increase in the ACQ would result in more domestic coal supplies, thereby, reducing the import dependency.
- ii. Under  the  provisions  of  Para  B  (viii)  (a)  of  SHAKTI  Policy,  coal  linkage  is provided for short term for sale of power generated through that linkage through any product in Power Exchanges or in short term through a transparent bidding process through DEEP portal. In addition, with the amendment to the Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) linkage auction policy introduced in 2020, the tenure of coking coal linkages in the NRS linkage auction has been revised for a period upto 30 years. The  coal offered for short term to the Power Plants under the amended  provisions  of  SHAKTI Policy  as well as increase in the tenure of the coking  coal  linkages  in the NRS  linkage  auction  for  a  period  upto  30  years  is  expected  to  have  a  positive impact towards coal imports substitution.
- iii. Government has decided in 2022 that the coal to meet the full PPA requirement of all the  existing  linkage  holders  of  Power  Sector  shall  be  made  available  by  the  coal companies. The decision of the Government of meeting the full PPA requirement of the linkage holders of the Power Sector shall reduce the dependence on the imports.
- iv. An Inter - Ministerial Committee (IMC) has been constituted in the Ministry of Coal on 29.05.2020 for the purpose of coal import substitution. The Representatives from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT), Central Electricity  Authority  (CEA),  Coal  Companies  and  Ports  are  members  of  this  IMC. Eleven meetings of the IMC have been held so far. On the directions of the IMC, an Import Data System has been developed by Ministry of Coal to enable the Ministry to track the imports of coal. Efforts are taken to ensure more domestic supplies of coal.

(c): The details of CIL coal mines abandoned/closed/discontinued during the last three years, is given below:

| CILSubsidiary   | Nameof Mines          |
|-----------------|-----------------------|
| ECL             | Kalipahari OC Patch A |
| ECL             | New Kenda             |
| BCCL            | Bera                  |
| BCCL            | Damagoria             |
| BCCL            | Kenduadih             |
| BCCL            | KB 10/12 Pits         |
| BCCL            | Salanpur              |
| BCCL            | Bhowrah (N)           |
| WCL             | Shobhapur             |
| WCL             | Ghorawari/Jharna      |
| WCL             | Barkuhi OC            |
| WCL             | Bharat (Ghorawari-2)  |
| SECL            | Pinoura               |
| SECL            | Mahamaya              |
| SECL            | Bishrampur            |
| SECL            | Mahan                 |
| SECL            | Mahan-II              |
| SECL            | Katkona 3 &4          |
| MCL             | Orient-3              |
| NEC             | Tipong                |
| NEC             | Tirap                 |

The coal mines likely to be closed by Coal CIL after completion of coal extraction work are as under:

| CILSubsidiary   | Nameof Mines                                                                                                                                       |
|-----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| WCL             | Mohan OC Ph-IV, Chhatrapur-II, Umrer Expansion OC (Amb River Ph-IV), Junad Extn OC, NewMajri Sec IA &IIA Extn OC, Penganga OC, MathaniUG (7 mines) |
| SECL            | North Chirimiri UG, Malga UG, PinouraUG (3 mines)                                                                                                  |
| NCL             | KakriOCM                                                                                                                                           |

| MCL   | Basundhara (West) Expansion OCP   |
|-------|-----------------------------------|
| CCL   | Sangam OC, Dakra OC (2 mines)     |

Closed coal mines of SCCL due to exhaustion of reserves / conversion to OC mines for the last three years are as below:

| NameofMines   |
|---------------|
| RK-8Incline   |
| VK-7 Incline  |
| JVROC         |
| GDK7LEP       |
| BPAOCII       |
| MedipalliOC   |

List of the mines proposed to be closed by SCCL in the current year & next three years:

| KK1 Inc.            |
|---------------------|
| RK1A Inc.           |
| GKOCP               |
| RKPOC               |
| JK5OC               |
| RK-NT               |
| RK-6 Inc.           |
| SRP-1 INC           |
| RGOC-1 Expn. &Ph-II |
| MNGOC               |

- (d) & (e): Finding new areas for mining coal and lignite through exploration is a continuous process. There is one sub-scheme i.e. Promotional (Regional) exploration continuing through Central Sector Scheme (CSS) of Ministry of Coal for exploration of new areas of coal & lignite. In  addition  to  this,  Central  Mine  Planning  &  Design  Institute  Limited  (CMPDIL)  and Geological Survey of India (GSI) also carries out exploration and investigation of minerals including coal.

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