39 Coal India projects behind schedule

New Delhi: State-owned Coal India LTD's (CIL) 39 coal mining projects are running behind the schedule on account of delays in getting green clearances and issues related to rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R).

This assumes significance in the wake of the India's power plants grappling with depleting stocks at their end. "114 coal projects with a sanctioned capacity of 836.48 mt (million tons) per year and a sanctioned capital of Rs 1,19,580 crore are in different stages of implementation out of which 75 projects are on schedule and 39 projects are delayed,"CIL said in its report.

The major reasons for delays in implementation of these projects are delay in forest clearances and possession of land and issues related to R&R. CIL's nine coal projects, with a sanctioned capacity of 27.60 mt per year and a sanctioned capital of Rs 1,976 crores were completed with a total completion capital of Rs 1,958 crore during 2020-21. Four of these projects belong to Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), three of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and two of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

WCL,CCL and MCL are subsidiaries of Coal India. One project with a sanctioned capacity of 1.4 mt per year and a sanctioned capital of Rs 143 crore had started coal production during the year 2020-21, the report said. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. Based on the demand projection in 'Vision 2024' for the coal sector in the country and subsequent demand projection on CIL, a road map has been prepared to project production plan in medium term. Under this, CIL has envisaged one billion tonne coal production in the year 2023-24 to meet the coal demand of the country. To achieve this target, CIL has identified major projects and assessed their related issues.