Lok Sabha Question No. 339 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-27
Subject: New Technologies in Coal Mining Operations
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 339

TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.11.2024

## New Technologies in Coal Mining Operations

## 339 . Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh:

Will the Minister of Coal be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has adopted new technologies in mining operations for modernisation of the coal sectors in Maharashtra;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the achievements made in this regard;

(c)  the  details  of  the  funds  invested  in  research  and  development  of  coal  sectors  in Maharashtra during the last three years;

(d) the details of the cooperation with the State and the local Governments; and

(e) the details of tentative areas for future collaboration with stakeholders for regional development along with the steps taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): Yes sir. Government has adopted new technologies in mining operations for modernization  of  coal  sector  including  in  Maharashtra.  Government  has  launched  a Technology  Roadmap  for  the  coal  sector  with  the  objective  to  implement  new technologies and build up digital infrastructure to support current and future mechanisation and modernization of the coal mines. The main focus is to bring blastfree technology  in  both  Underground  &  Opencast  mines  and  introduction  of  Continuous Miner, Longwall, Highwall and Surface Miner technologies by identification of mines where geo-mining conditions permitsuse of such technologies. The main thrust behind these technologies are enhancement of a safer work environment, increased coal recovery and greater efficiency. Other areas identified for introduction of new technologies are transportation, communication, digitization, safety, environment and sustainability etc.

Coal  India  Limited  (CIL)  through  one  of  its  subsidiary  companies,  namely Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) is operating coal mines in the state of Maharashtra. In pursuance of the above initiatives of the Government, WCL has adopted various new technologies in mining operations for modernization of coal mines as detailed below:

(i)    For  introduction  of  new  technology  and  modernization  in  coal  production  in command area of WCL, Maharashtra following technologies have been considered:-

- Continuous Miner technology has been adopted in underground mine at Saoner UG-I, for which LOA has been issued.
- Surface  Miner  technology  has  been  introduced  in  six  Opencast  mines,  i.e. Penganga,  Amalgamated  Yekona  I  &  II,  Pauni-II  OC  Expansion,  Mungoli Niruguda Extn Deep, Sasti Expn & Neeljai Expansion Deep.

(ii)    Global  Positioning  System/  General  Pocket  radio  System  (GPS/GPRS)  based Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) with 3038 GPS sets, Geo-fencing of Mines of WCL and coal  transportation  route  mapping  are  in  place  for  effective  real  time  monitoring  of movement of internal coal carrying vehicles & vehicles for Overburden (OB) and Coal Productions in Mines.

(iii)    Increased  electronic  surveillance  through  centralized  CCTV  system  with  745 Fixed/Pan-tilt -Zoom camera (PTZ) at all vulnerable points across WCL command area.

(iv)     Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) for e-surveillance established at WCL  HQ,  Nagpur  for  24x7  live  monitoring  and  recording  of  video  footage  from Cameras installed and working at vulnerable points such as weighbridges, Check Posts, Mine  View  Points,  Coal  Stocks,  Sidings  etc.  across  command  area  of  WCL  with Artificial Intelligence (AI) based video analytics.

(v)     Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based Boom barrier access control system has been implemented at all Check posts to prevent entry of unauthorized vehicles in mines. RFID based Weighment integration has been implemented at all the road weigh bridges with auto capturing of vehicle number without any manual intervention.

(vi)   Drone technology has been implemented for operation, safety, environmental and security surveillance in opencast mines of WCL including 3D scanner for volumetric measurement of coal and overburden heaps.

(vii)   Action  has  been  taken  for  implementation  of  new  upgraded  Information Technology (IT) initiative system in WCL with integration of Automatic Number Plate Recognition  (ANPR)  &  Radio  Frequency  Identification  (RFID)  based  boom  barrier system at mine entry and exit, CCTV system with edge analytics, ANPR & RFID based weighment automation system and GPS/GPRS based Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) on common ICCC platform for effective monitoring and reporting. The system includes integration of 1250 cameras and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) video analytics.

For  Commercial/Captive  Mines,  under  Commercial  auction  scheme,  Coal  Block Development and Production Agreement executed between the successful bidder and Nominated Authority mandates that the Successful Bidder shall implement mechanised coal  extraction,  transport  and  evacuation  in  the  Coal  Mine,  in  line  with  modern  and prevalent technologies.

(c): Disbursement  made  in  research  &  development  projects  in  coal  sector  in Maharashtra during the last three (3) years and till date are as follows:

| Year                |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |   2024-25 (till 19.11.24) |
|---------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|---------------------------|
| Amount (Rs. in Cr.) |     12.24 |       2.3 |     19.05 |                      2.91 |

(d): At present, there is no collaboration with the State and local Governments in the area of technology upgradation and modernization.

(e):       The tentative areas for future collaboration for regional development,  will be considered as per requirement.