Lok Sabha Question No. 2279 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Schemes to Increase Coal Production
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Shri Chandra Prakash Choudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2279 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.03.2025

## Schemes To Increase Coal Production

## †2279. Shri Chandra Prakash Choudhary:

Will the Minister of Coal be pleased to state:

(a)  the  major  schemes  and  policies  implemented  by  the  Government  with  the  objective  of increasing coal production in the country so far along with the details of the contribution of coal mining projects in Jharkhand and other Eastern States towards the same;

(b)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  deal  with  the  challenges  regarding  environment damage and rehabilitation during coal mining along with the details of the arrangements made for rehabilitation and providing compensation to the communities/displaced people affected by the same; and

(c) whether the Government proposes to set up a full-time tribunal to deal with the cases of displaced  people  that  was  supposed  to  have  been  set  up  under  the  Coal  Bearing  Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 but have not been set up till date and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COAL AND MINES (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a): The  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  increase  the  coal  production  in  the  country  in order to meet the demand of coal for the upcoming years 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  endeavor  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 Highwall (HW) mines. In its OC mines, CIL already has State-of theArt 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.

## State-wise raw coal production in Jharkhand and other Eastern States during 2022-23 and 2023-24 are given below:

(Figures in Million Tons)

| State                  |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |
|------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| Jharkhand              |   156.483 |   191.158 |
| West Bengal            |    32.796 |    37.262 |
| Madhya Pradesh         |   146.029 |   159.228 |
| Chhattisgarh           |   184.895 |   207.255 |
| Odisha                 |   218.981 |   239.402 |
| Assam                  |     0.2   |     0.2   |
| TOTAL (Eastern States) |   739.384 |   834.505 |

(b): Before the start  of  any  new/expansion coal  mine project,  Environment Clearances  are obtained for which Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan is  prepared  to  ensure  the  protection  of  the  Environment.   The  Environmental  Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan is implemented in all the mines to mitigate the environmental impact of mining.

Further, the following steps are taken to deal with the challenges associated with rehabilitation during coal mining and the arrangements made for rehabilitation and compensation for the affected communities/displaced people affected by the same:

- Acceptability of rehabilitation site by persons being displaced and the host community is ensured by site selection through joint committee/team in association with district authorities.
- Disputes and resentments on eligibility and quantum of compensation /Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) benefits are prevented by associating representatives of Project affected Families (PAFs) during baseline socio-economic surveys and measurements of house/structure/land.
- Grievance Redressal Mechanism is made effective for PAFs at the project level with the  participation  of  project  proponent,  PAFs,  District  authorities  and  local  elected representatives.
- Regular meetings are conducted with villagers for review of ongoing R&R activities with timelines of completion.
- Transparency  in  compensation  and  R&R  activities  is  ensured  by  R&R  committee headed by District Collector or his representative.
- In case, land is acquired under CBA(A&D) Act 1957, the R&R benefits are accorded as per the provisions of Second Schedule of RFCTLARR Act 2013 and the amenities provided in the new rehabilitation site is as per Third Schedule of RFCTLARR Act 2013.
- Option is also given to PAFs to avail better compensation and R&R benefit under the provisions of section 108 of RFCTLARR Act 2013.

(c): The  Government  has  set  up  two  full-time  tribunals  under  the  Coal  Bearing  Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 at Nagpur, Maharashtra and Talcher, Odisha to deal with the cases of displaced people.

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