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At a time when India is grappling with a coal shortage, the statutory appraisal committee of the Union environment ministry has expressed concern over the proposal for a limited increase in production by Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiaries. Separately, it has said, CIL, which accounts for 80 per cent of the country’s coal production, is “not at all serious about the environmental impact of coal mining”.
The expert appraisal committee (EAC) has recommended the environment ministry take up the matter with the coal ministry and CIL units be advised to increase production. “The EAC has observed that CIL and its subsidiaries are frequently coming for enhancement of the production of coal with small quantities…The EAC is of the view that the proponents are only wasting time and energy by not attempting higher production,” the committee said at its EAC meeting on July 23 while appraising CIL’s Eastern Coalfied unit in Burdan district of West Bengal which had applied for 17 per cent capacity expansion to a cluster comprising 19 mixed mines. The unit sought expansion from 27.16 to 31.83 million tonnes per annum.
Niladri Roy, general manager, Eastern Coalfields, said, “In the past, proponents had been penalised for exceeding the environmental-clearance capacity. But with a change in norms, things will change. We are applying for higher production wherever possible.” He added apart from environmental clearances, there are several other factors, including land, which compelled mines to restrict capacity expansion. “We take into account various factors before we plan optimum capacity,” he said.
The National Democratic Alliance government has done away with the requirement of public hearings for coal mines with capacities less than 16 mtpa seeking to expand output by up to 50 per cent. Later, mines with capacities exceeding 16 mtpa were allowed to mine up to five mtpa more without consulting the people affected.
The expert committee said non-submission of information was leading to delays in granting environmental clearances, “thereby affecting national production of coal for power generation”. Coal minister Piyush Goyal has cited delays in granting these clearances as one of the several factors behind the low coal production.
The committee has cleared a proposal by a Northern Coalfields mine in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, to increase production. The proposal followed the Centre lifting a ban on expansion and setting up factories in eight critically polluted industrial belts, including Singrauli.
While granting the clearance to the Northern Coalfields mine, citing “imminent coal demand for power generation”, the committee said the CIL subsidiary hadn’t been complying with various environmental conditions since the past six years. It suggested the matter be brought to the notice of the coal ministry “so as to respect the environmental clearance conditions in letter and spirit”.
