New mines in Maharashtra to boost coal production, curb imports
Opening of two additional mines in Maharashtra will add the production capacity of the government-run miner Coal India Limited (CIL) up to 6.75 Million Tonnes (MT) and help the country in curbing its import bill. Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday inaugurated the two open cast mine projects of the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) at Dinesh and Yekona in Umred area of Nagpur district. “The two projects would add the production capacity by 6.75 MT, of which around 5.7 MT would be provided to Mahagenco and other power houses and will lead in turn to generation of additional power of 1400 Mega Watts,” said the Minister. The inauguration of these two mines marks fulfillment of the government’s assurance of opening one new mine per month and leads to a new era in the history of the company, he said. These projects would also provide job opportunities for 1,773 land oustees and indirect employment opportunities for hundreds of locals. A skill development centre has also been launched along with Kamptee mine to Kanhan Township Jal-Sahyog Project, an initiative to meet 24x7 drinking water requirement using mine water discharge in Nagpur. Besides, suitable sites will also be identified for the production of urea from coal in order to ensure proper supply of the fertilizer to the local farmers at affordable cost. The Minister also expressed confidence that the CIL will achieve its annual production target of 50 Million Tonnes (MT) this year. The company has achieved impressive growth last year which was more than the accumulated growth in production during the previous four years and it has now resolved to grow higher briskly. CIL has registered 9.4% growth rate during the first six months of the current fiscal.
October 27, 2015 | 2:57pm IST.
to success.