Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi said that scaling up domestic coal production must be the priority for all subsidiaries of CIL to ensure continuous supply of coal, especially during the up-coming monsoon season. The Minister disclosed that with an estimated capital investment of Rs.12,500 crore, 35 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects will be completed on priority basis. Inaugurating two projects virtually of Dhoptala Open Cast Mine and foundation stone laying for First Mile Connectivity project at Chandrapur in Maharashtra under the Western Coalfields Ltd, Shri Joshi stated that Ministry of Coal is giving utmost priority to coal gasification projects and efforts are underway to bring in private firms and latest technology for coal gasification with focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The combined investment of two projects initiated today comes to Rs 1190 crore. Dhoptala Opencast Mine of Ballarpur Area will have a capacity of 2.50 Million Ton coal per year and involves a cost of Rs.720. 87 crore. The open cast mine having a reserve of 53.11 MT coal will be providing 795 employment opportunity directly and the land area requirement for the project comes to 1257.46 Ha.
The first mile connectivity project of Wani Area will have capacity of eight million ton per year and involves investment of Rs.471 crore for different segments of it. Some of the advantages of this particular projects includes; average reduction in coal road transportation by over 12km, substantial reduction in carbon & CO2 emission and diesel consumption over conventional loading by tipper/pay loader.
Joining the function, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari urged the Coal Ministry and Coal India Ltd to avoid the present delay in obtaining land and approval from other departments for starting of new coal mines.
Addressing the function Minister of State for Coal, Mines and Railways Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve called upon Coal India Ltd and Western Coalfields Ltd to attain the set targets of coal production for this financial year and smooth supply to the power sector. Secretary, Ministry of Coal, CMD, Coal India Ltd and CMD, Western Coalfields Ltd also addressed the function.