(a) the details of the pending projects of Coal India Limited(CIL), Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL);
(b) whether there has been any delay in completion of these projects;
(c) if so, whether the Government has conducted any survey with regard to the present status of the projects of CIL, NLC and SCCL; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF COAL, POWER AND NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) to (b): At present, Coal India Limited (CIL) has 33 on-going projects, each costing Rs.100 crores and above, that are behind schedule and have only time overrun. However, as of now it has no cost overrun. Out of the 33 projects where implementation is delayed, as many as 11 projects are delayed due to forestry clearances, 10 projects due to acquisition and possession of land & associated Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) issues. Five projects are delayed due to delay in finalization of global tenders and commissioning of equipment, 5 projects are delayed due to evacuation issues and 2 projects due to Environmental Clearance (EC) issues.
In Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), there are 21 On-going projects. Out of these, 8 Projects are on schedule and 13 are behind the schedule. Majority of these Projects are getting delayed due to delays in Forest Land Diversion, Non-Forest Land acquisition, R&R issues.
In Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC), there are 4 projects costing more than Rs.100 crores each. Majority of these projects are getting delayed due to start of works and non-mobilization of adequate manpower by BHEL, Delay in manufacturing and supply of Wind turbine generator components, Delay in completion of 110 KV evacuation line due to ROW (Right of Way) issues, Delay in completion of 110/33 KV substation due to ROW issues and Delay in completion of bay extension in 400/220/110 KV Substation at Kayathar.
(c) & (d): The steps taken by the Government to speed up the implementation of the projects include the following:-
i) Ministry of Coal (MoC) and CIL is regularly corresponding with the State governments & holding meetings with concerned state officials to expedite & facilitate acquisition / possession of land, and expediting EC & FC issues;
ii) Issues related to Environmental Clearance (EC), Forestry Clearance (FC) & Land acquisition are being regularly taken up with Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and concerned State Governments by the Ministry of Coal;
iii) Ministry of Coal has created a portal for monitoring the pending issues of the projects with different State Governments and Central Ministries;v
iv) The implementation of the projects is also being monitored regularly through holding quarterly project review meetings under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Coal), Ministry of Coal;
v) The Project Monitoring Group (PMG) of the Cabinet Secretariat also monitors the issues related to all the major on-going projects costing Rs. 1000 crore and above;
vi) Compensations for land acquired are being paid as per the revised rates notified by the State governments. In states where the rates have not been revised the compensation is being paid as per the revised rates of the neighbouring states;
vii) A liberal R&R policy has been framed by CIL which is also amended as per the needs of the time;
viii) Affected parties / villagers are consistently persuaded for accepting compensation & early hand over of land;
ix) Subject experts & officials from the Forest Service`s cadre have been appointed by CIL & its subsidiaries for suitable advice, scrutiny & expediting proposals through vigorous follow-up;
x) CIL has started investing in the three major rail infrastructure projects in order to streamline the output & coal evacuation from three coalfields with high growth potential;
xi) The bidding process has been made more participative & transparent in order to ensure successful & timely conclusion of the bids.