The Coal Ministry has redoubled its efforts to ensure faster and eco-friendly evacuation of 1 billion tonnes (bt) of the critical commodity, the mainstay of India’s power generation, with a focus on enhancing ease of living and ease of doing business in the sector.
Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena told businessline that, in line with the target of producing 1 bt of coal, the roadmap for FY26 will focus on creating a robust and sustainable logistics supply chain network.
Transporting coal from mines to loading points involves movement of trucks, which causes air pollution due to vehicular emissions. The ministry plans to introduce mechanised coal handling from mines to railway loading points through ‘first-mile connectivity’ (FMC) projects.
Meena explained that, on average, a mechanised handling facility — which operates round the clock — is around 3 km long. This helps reduce truck movement and the resultant pollution, while also enabling faster coal evacuation.
Mines of all sizes
Outlining the details of the coal evacuation master plan, Meena said, “As part of this exercise, we have decided to provide mechanised coal handling for large mines in the first phase. We have identified 61 mines producing over 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), which may increase as new projects are in the pipeline.”
So far, eight projects have been commissioned, while 27 more are in various stages of implementation. Most of them would be commissioned by April 2024 and, thereafter, other FMC projects will be taken up in a phased manner. There are also plans to cover mines with output of over 1.5 mtpa, he added.
The Coal Secretary emphasised that evacuation via rail is the most eco-friendly mode of coal transport. The ministry had undertaken a study of coal connectivity gaps in major producing areas in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Critically congested routes were identified and measures taken to remedy them. “First was constructing new railway lines. Second, enhancing existing lines, and, third, constructing spur lines for connectivity with the main line,” Meena explained.
The ministry has identified 13 projects, of which three have been completed and another is nearing completion. The rest are likely to be completed over the next two years, he said.
The Coal Ministry also undertook an exercise to map coal blocks on the Gati Shakti: National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity — the digital platform that brings together 16 ministries for integrated development of infrastructure connectivity projects — to determine the need for new railway lines and augmenting existing infrastructure.
Joint effort
“Coal and Railways undertook an intensive joint exercise. We also consulted private coal mine auction holders to find out where they need railway infrastructure and identified another 26 projects to be included in the Railways plan. Work on this is at different stages,” Meena said.
In Chhattisgarh’s Korba and Mand Raigarh coalfields, most of the evacuation was through the Howrah-Bilaspur rail line, which is highly congested. Therefore, a parallel railway line has been constructed from Kharsia to Dharmjaigarh, Korba and Pendra Road, he explained.
“This is a nearly 300-km line covering all major mines owned by Coal India (CIL) and private operators; 124 km of this has been completed and will likely be inaugurated very soon,” he said.
The remaining 110 km — the Gevra-Pendra Road section of the Chhattisgarh West Rail Link (CWRL) — will be completed by December 2024 and the rest by end-2025, he added.
The dedicated coal evacuation corridor will be the first of its kind in the country, he observed.
“For evacuation from Odisha’s Talcher and Ib valley coalfields, the railway line planned is Angul-Balram, which goes to Tutuki. Another is Jharsuguda-Barpalli-Sardega. Then, Sardega to Pelma was a missing line, which has been approved [for construction] by Railways. It will provide evacuation for Mahanadi coalfields,” the Secretary said.
Similarly, in Jharkhand, the Tori-Shivpur line is nearing completion. The Shivpur-Kathautia line will provide connectivity to the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.