Cabinet approves policy for use of land acquired under Coal Bearing Areas Act
- State-run companies such as Coal India and its subsidiaries will remain owners of these lands acquired under the CBA Act and the policy will only allow leasing of the land for the specified purposes.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy for use of lands, which are mined out or are practically unsuitable for mining, to develop and set up infrastructure relating to coal and energy.
The policy entails the use of land acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957. The Act provides for the acquisition of coal-bearing lands and their vesting in a government company, free from any encumbrance.
"With the objectives of facilitating utilisation of lands which are mined out or are practically unsuitable for coal mining and for increasing investment and job creation in coal sector, the Union Cabinet... has approved the policy for use of land acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957 (CBA Act)," the coal ministry said in a statement.
State-run companies such as Coal India Ltd. (CIL) and its subsidiaries will remain owners of these lands acquired under the CBA Act and the policy will only allow leasing of the land for the specified purposes. These companies can deploy private capital in joint projects for coal and energy related infrastructure development activities.
The government company which owns the land would lease it for a specific period given under the policy and the entities for leasing will be selected through a transparent, fair and competitive bid process and mechanism in order to achieve optimal value.
The lands will be considered for activities such as setting up washeries, coal gasification and coal-to-chemical plants and to set up or provide for energy-related infrastructure.
The lands which are mined out or are practically unsuitable for coal mining are prone to unauthorised encroachment and entail avoidable expenditure on security and maintenance. Under the approved policy, establishment of various coal and energy related infrastructure, without transfer of ownership from government companies, would lead to generation of a large number of direct and indirect employment, the statement said.
This unlocking of non-minable land for other purposes will also help CIL in reducing its cost of operations as it will be able to set up coal related infrastructure and other projects such as solar plant on its own land by adopting different business models in partnership with private sector. It will make coal gasification projects viable as coal need not be transported to distant places.
The proposal to utilise land for rehabilitation purpose would ensure proper utilization of land and would eliminate wastage of all-important land resource, avoid acquisition of fresh chunk of land for rehabilitation of project affected families, eliminate loading of additional financial burden on the projects and increase profit.
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Business NewsIndustryEnergyCabinet approves policy for use of land acquired under Coal Bearing Areas Act
First Published:13 Apr 2022, 06:06 PM IST
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