Coal India: Change Maker
With the current government’s initiatives such as rural electrification programme and 24X7 power for all, Coal India (CIL), which virtually fuels and empowers the power sector in the country, is poised to play an even greater role in meeting the country’s energy needs. During the last financial year, the state-controlled coal mining company had created many new highs such as achieving an all-time high off-take of 580.28 million tonnes (MT) of coal with 6.8 per cent growth compared to the last year. CIL’s gross turnover for 2017-18 also went up to Rs 1,27.162.17 crore from Rs 122,286.96 crore in the same period last year.
“Resolving of land acquisition, and Resettlement & Rehabilitation(R&R) issues, obtaining green clearances (environmental & forestry), finalisation of award of contracts for OBR and coal production, starting of railway line from Tori Station to Bukru/ Phulwasia to augment dispatch from Magadh and Amrapali OCP of CCL to remove evacuation constraints and increase production, close monitoring of mining activities at various levels and opening of new mines helped the company in ramping up coal production and dispatches. We have lined up a capex of Rs 9,500 crore for FY 2019,” says A.K. Jha on the achievements of CIL.
The Maharatna company produces coal through its 369 mines spread across eight States of the country and has the aspirational production target pegged at 652 MT for 2018-19. CIL spearheads the country’s coal production and produces around 84 per cent of the nation’s entire coal output. Its coal production of 567.36 MT showed an increase of over 13 MT in absolute terms compared to the last fiscal clocking a growth of 2.4 per cent. Around 78 per cent of the company’s entire coal supply is catered to the power sector where it supplied 454.24 MT of coal, the highest ever off-take so far. The growth was again 6.8 per cent compared to the last year’s achievement of 425.40 MT.
During the last financial year, CIL commissioned two long pending major rail infrastructure projects Tori-Balumath section (in Tori- Shivpur division under jurisdiction of CCL) and Jharsuguda-Barpali- Dardega section (under jurisdiction of MCL) which were built on coal deposit basis and are now operational. Two coking coal washeries – Dahibari washery with a capacity of 1.6 MTy (MT per year) and Patherdih washery with 5 MTy – were commissioned by CIL. Plans are on the anvil to set up a non-coking coal washery in the Ib-Valley for which a letter of award was issued. While two new Coal Handling Plants with Rapid Loading System in Khadia 6 MTPA CHP/RLSNCL and Bharatpur 15 MTPA CHP/RLS in MCL have been commissioned, ten coal projects with an ultimate capacity of 41.39 MTy with sanctioned capital of Rs. 1,524.27 crore have been completed.
“Eleven coal blocks have been allotted to Eastern Coalfields, Bharat Coking Coal, Central Coalfields and Western Coalfields put together. These new blocks will help these subsidiaries to produce more than 100 MT of coal per annum in near future. Four coal mining projects with an ultimate capacity of 24.60 MTy and total capital investment of Rs 4,155.46 crore were approved by CIL Board which would help to maintain Coal India’s production growth tempo,” Jha told shareholders in Coal India FY 2017-18 annual report.
