Pralhad Joshi seeks early resolution of South Eastern Coalfield land issues

Union coal, mines and Parliamentary Affairs minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that he has sought an early resolution of various land-related issues of South Eastern Coalfield Ltd in Chattisgarh.

This comes at a time when the global window for future coal mining is getting shorter with a shift happening towards meeting environment, sustainability and governance (ESG) compliance.

“In a tweet, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi said that he has sought an early resolution of various land-related issues of South Eastern Coalfield Ltd, Chattisgarh. In a virtual meeting held today with the Chief Minister of Chattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, the Union Minister pointed out that production of coal can be further increased from the State of Chattisgarh if such issues are resolved at the earliest,” union coal ministry said in a statement.

The country’ coal requirement is expected to go up to 1,123 mt by 2023 from the present level of 700 mt. India has the world’s fourth-largest reserves and is the second-largest producer of coal. With a global shift to green energy to address growing environmental concerns, the Indian government is trying to harness coal reserves within the next three decades.

“Joshi also requested the Chief Minister to expedite auction of mineral blocks as per the recent reforms brought about in the mineral sector,” the statement said.

India’s coal production went up to 74.78 million tonnes (mt) in December as compared to the same period in 2019

“In a separate meeting with the senior officials of the Ministry of Coal and Coal India Ltd (CIL) to review the status of coal availability in the country, the minister urged the management to motivate the workforce in order to achieve annual production targets,” the statement added.

While CIL’ annual production target is 660 mt for the current financial year, the coal off take is expected to be 740 mt.