Clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) are most important to complete three railway tracks planned for coal evacuation in Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, said Vinay Mittal, Chairman of The Railway Board.
"We are trying to complete the tracks within the 12th Plan Period. However, the most important prerequisite is the clearance from MoEF," Mittal told Business Line on Friday.
The three lines are Tori-Shivpur-Kathotia in North Karanpura (92 km); Bhupdeopur-Korba and Gevra Road to Pendra Road in Chhattisgarh (180 km) and Barpali-Jharsuguda-Gopalpur-Manoharpur in IB Valley in Odisha (53 km).
Mittal said that the issue has been discussed at the highest level of the Government. However, unless green approvals come on time, the rail tracks could be further delayed. The Railways has submitted revised applications to the MoEF, he said.
Asked about other roadblocks while completing the lines, Mittal said, " We are already handling other local issues. The main issue is environment clearance," Mittal reiterated.
The tracks planned in Jharkhand and Orissa are in "deposit-work model" while the project in Chhattisgarh is a joint venture between the State, Coal India and IRCON.
"The Chhattisgarh model is unique where the State has participated. In others, Coal India is investing for the projects. Some States are coming forward to invest in new lines," Mittal explained.
The Prime Minister’s Office has directed the Railways to execute the three railway tracks proposed by Coal India (to evacuate coal) within three years of the necessary clearances being obtained.
Coal India Chairman and Managing Director S. Narsing Rao earlier told Business Line that the miner’s 12th Plan targets have been set considering these lines will be functional. The public sector miner proposes to extract 615 million tonnes of coal by the terminal year of the 12th Plan, up from 436 million tonnes this year.
These lines are critical in facilitating the timely evacuation of 300 million tonnes of coal every year once they are operational.
Asked if there would be any space for incremental traffic after ferrying coal, Mittal said that once the routes start operations, there is scope for incremental traffic.