Govt to digitize land acquisition process for coal mines as Net Zero looms
Summary
- The move comes amid a narrowing window for coal mining as the 2070 deadline for India to phase out fossil fuels nears.
New Delhi: The government plans to launch a dedicated portal for land acquisition for coal mining, said two people aware of the development, citing the biggest pain point in India’s push for the fossil fuel.
The coal ministry portal will digitize records in the land acquisition process, including approvals for acquisitions and disbursal of compensation to the displaced.
"The land acquisition process will be completely digitized now with the 'Coal Land Acquisition and Management Portal, CLAMP'. The aim is to help in the submission of proposals for land acqusition, process those applications and approve them online," said one of the people mentioned above said.
Further, the processing of rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) benefits which include monetary compensation and resettlement of the displaced would also be carried out through the portal, the person added.
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Another person said the process of replacing the human interface with the web portal has been modelled on the 'BhoomiRashi' portal of the road ministry, which has helped accelerate the land acquisition processes for roads and highways.
'Aim is to bring ease, transparency'
"Apart from bringing in ease in the processes, the objective is also to bring in transparency. There will be complete visibility of who are the people displaced in each and every village and the status of the compensation they have got or would receive," said the second person.
Land acquisition, displacements and rehabilitation of the local people have been major subjects of public discourse over the years.
During FY18-22, government-run Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries acquired 82,122 hectares of land, according to data released by the coal ministry in April last year.
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The move comes amid a narrowing window for coal mining as the 2070 deadline for India to phase out fossil fuels nears. Meanwhile, the government has also increased its efforts to boost production and increase compensation to displaced people.
The centralized portal is also important as mining has been opened up to private players since 2020—a move that is expected to increase the country's coal output. In June this year the ministry published revised draft coal mining guidelines, which talked about a “just transition" that would include supporting affected workers, community development initiatives, environmental remediation, and policy reforms.
It proposes enhanced flexibility for minor modifications in mining plans, with only major changes requiring approval. The ministry has also proposed a provision for calendar plan flexibility to accommodate increased annual coal production beyond scheduled targets; drone surveys; and processed outputs for comprehensive five-year compliance reports of mining planning.
On Friday the ministry also reviewed the status of the ongoing development of the National Coal Mines Safety Report Portal. The portal would enable 'near-time reporting' and efficient management of accidents, ensuring prompt response.
Queries sent to the ministry of coal remained unanswered till press time.