The Minister of Coal & Mines, Ms. Mamata Banerjee has asked Coal India Ltd., to make coal available for domestic consumption of families, below the poverty line. This will enable the poor households to have some relief in meeting their household energy needs. Detailed modalities for operationalizing this scheme are being worked out on priority.
To improve availability of coal in remote areas, the Minister also directed MECL and CMPDIL to identify and exploit small isolated pockets of coal deposits not connected by rail. This would ensure scientific exploitation of these resources & prevent possibility of illegal unsafe mining. These pockets should have deposits up to 10 million tonnes for open-cast operations and 5 million tonnes for underground operations.
(Release ID :1186)