Govt To Boost Production Of Coal, Says Coal Minister

Piyush Goyal, minister of state (independent charge) for power, coal and renewable energy, has said that the government would boost coal production “to the maximum extent possible.” In order to achieve this objective, it would pave way for environment and forest clearances and coordinate with state governments for land acquisition.

“Coal India Limited (CIL) is enhancing production through capacity addition from new projects, use of mass production technologies, and identification of existing ongoing projects with growth potential,” he said. He further said that CIL is in the process of getting more high-efficiency hydrostatic drills to increase its drilling capacity for exploration.

The coal minister added that the Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDIL), which undertakes exploration for CIL, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mineral Exploration Corporation (MEC) to boost exploration.

Referring to the import of coal in spite of having huge reserves of coal, Goyal said, “India has adequate coal reserves for meeting its coal requirements and as such these reserves would be adequate to meet the coal requirement at the present demand level. However, at the present juncture, the actual production of coal falls short of the overall demand.”