(a) whether the Government has fixed any target for mining of coal in the country;
(b) if so, the quantum of coal likely to be mined and the time frame set for the same;
(c) whether the country has necessary infrastructure to transport the coal from coal mines to the users and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps being taken/proposed to be taken to fill the gap between the demand and supply of coal in the country?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR COAL, POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND MINES
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a)&(b): As per Annual Plan document of Ministry of Coal, all India target of coal production for 2016-17 was fixed at 724.71 MT. A roadmap has also been prepared by Coal India Limited to substantially enhance production of coal to 1 Billion Tonnes by 2019-20 from the current level of production of 538.75 MT in 2015-16.
(c): For present level of production, CIL has necessary infrastructure in place to transport the coal from coal mines to the users. However in view of proposed growth in production, CIL has planned infrastructure like construction of railway lines, sidings and rapid loading systems etc. to transport coal from mines to the users.
(d): The focus of the Government is to increase the domestic production of coal which includes efforts to expedite Environment clearances & Forest clearances, pursuing with State Government
for assistance in land acquisition and coordinated effort with Railways for movement of coal. This includes capacity addition from new projects, use of mass production technologies and identification of existing on-going projects with growth potential. Steps have also been taken by Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries to improve the production of coal by adopting latest available technologies such as Continuous Miners, Selective Mining, Surface Miners and clean Coal Technologies, Coal sizing and sampling technologies.
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