Govt aims to produce 1 billion tonnes coal in 2023-24

NEW DELHI: Aiming to produce 1 billion tonnes of dry fuel in 2023-24, the Coal Ministry has decided to fix 780 million tonnes target for Coal India Ltd (CIL), 75 million tonnes for Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, and 162 million tonnes for captive and commercial mines for the forthcoming fiscal.

A total of 290 mines are operational under the CIL, out of which 97 produce more than 1 million tonnes per year.

These targets were fixed during a review meeting conducted by Coal Secretary Amritlal Meena on Wednesday, where all subsidiaries of CIL were present.

The 1 billion tonnes coal production target looks ambitious, as CIL has produced only 513 million tonnes of coal in this fiscal so far, and had produced 622 million tonnes in 2021-22.

During the meeting, issues related to land acquisition, forest and environment clearance as well as rail and road connectivity of 97 mines were discussed and timelines were fixed.

Sources informed that out of these 97 coal mines, only 41 mines are facing the a forementioned issues, which were discussed in the meeting.