 "Coal, fossil fuel")
South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), the Chhattisgarh-based arm of state-run Coal India Limited (CIL), has recorded the fastest 100 million tonne (mt) coal production in the current financial year since its inception.
The company joined the 100 mt club on November 18 and achieved the target in the shortest period since it came into being in 1985. The SECL spokesperson said the firm achieved the 100 mt target 32 days ahead compared to the previous financial year.
SECL’s three mega projects located in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district have contributed significantly to the achievement. While the Gevra project contributed 30.76 mt, Kusmunda mined 23.72 mt and Dipka produced 17.39 mt of coal. The spokesperson said with this, the company’s mega projects have contributed about 71 per cent of the total 100 mt.
SECL has already achieved the fastest 100 million cubic meter (MCuM) overburden removal (OBR) and 100 mt coal dispatch since its inception in the current financial year.
Last month, SECL achieved 100 mt coal dispatch for 2023-24, the spokesperson said, adding that in FY23, the company had dispatched around 85 mt coal during the same period. Of the total offtake, over 80 per cent has been dispatched to the power sector.
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SECL is desperate to regain its lost position in the CIL. The firm was the largest coal producing subsidiary of the CIL till FY21. Its output, however, dropped to 142.5 mt in FY22, only to be overtaken by Odisha-based Mahanadi Coalfields with coal production of 168.2 mt.
MCL retained the position for the second successive year in FY23 by recording a coal output of 193.3 MT. Though SECL has set a target to produce 182 MT coal, it could mine 167 MT.
The company has set a target of 197 MT of coal production in the current financial year. It has crossed the half way mark in the mid of the third quarter of the current financial year.
From the onset of FY24, SECL has focussed on enhancing the coal production. In June, it launched three projects that will augment its coal production and dispatch in Chhattisgarh. The three projects included the rail rapid load out system (RRLOS) in Gevra area under first-mile connectivity (FMC), workshop complex in Kusmunda area, and Baroud siding in Raigarh area.
