With delay in the grant of environmental and forest clearances slowing the expansion of coal mining projects, the coal ministry has urged the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to expedite these clearances.
The coal ministry has pointed out the time period for environment and forest clearances stands at 210 days and 150 days, respectively, while the actual approvals take 3-6 years.
The coal ministry has asked MoEF to provide both environment and forest clearances within the stipulated timelines so that state-owned coal companies, like Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, could scale up their coal output significantly.
It has suggested a representative of the coal ministry can be included in the Forest Advisory Committee to facilitate the approval process for coal projects.
The ministry has also requested MoEF to draw up the standard Terms of Reference (ToR) for opencast and underground coal mines to reduce the time taken in the preparation of Environment Management Plan (EMP).
The coal ministry is of the view that Temporary Work Permission (TWP) could be granted for increase in production capacity till the revised EMP for higher capacity is submitted for the ongoing coal mine projects.
The time required for data generation and other studies for EMP preparation is almost one year and it is expected that the TWP will immediately facilitate an increase in production from some opencast mines in the country to meet the ever-increasing demand for coal.
Moreover, MoEF has been urged to increase the number of exploratory boreholes in forest land from 15 boreholes per sq km to 20 boreholes a sq km to undertake proper resource management for the preparation of feasibility reports.
Taking into account the constraints in railway network, the coal ministry has drawn the attention of the railway ministry to expedite the Todi-Shivpur railway line in Jharkhand, which is expected to transport 160 million tonnes of coal. When this project was conceptualised in 2000, its cost was estimated at Rs 621 crore, but till now, only Rs 25 crore has been spent on the project.
The coal ministry has also demanded the construction of a 53-km railway track from Gopalpur to Manoharpur, as this track has the potential to transport 220 million tonnes of coal.
It has also called for the construction of a 74-km railway track in Talcher Coalfields, which will have the potential to carry additional coal to the tune of 300 million tonnes.
