National Coal Logistic Plan on the anvil
The Ministry of Coal will be taking up additional 19 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects for Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited with a capacity of 330 million ton (MT) during FY2026-27.
The Ministry has already undertaken 55 FMC projects (44 – CIL, 5 – SCCL & 3 – NLCIL) of 526 MTPA capacity with an investment of Rs.18,000 crores. Eight of these projects (6 – CIL & 2 – SCCL) of 95.5 MTPA capacity have been commissioned and the remaining will be commissioned by FY2025.
The Ministry said it is working on the development of National Coal Logistic Plan including First Mile Connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of rail network in coalfields. This is to ensure efficient and environ-friendly coal evacuation in the future.
The Ministry has set a target to produce 1.31 billion tons (BT) coal by FY2025 and 1.5 BT in FY30. In this context, development of coal transportation that is cost efficient, fast and the environmental-friendly manner is important.
The Ministry has formulated a strategy to develop an integrated approach for eliminating road transportation of coal in mines and has taken steps to upgrade mechanized coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects.
Coal Handling Plants (CHPs) and SILOs with Rapid Loading Systems will be equipped with systems such as crushing, sizing of coal and speedy computer aided loading.
According to a study by National Environmental Research Institute, Nagpur, in 2020-21, there will be yearly carbon emissions saving, reduction in truck movement density and diesel savings of Rs.2,100 crore per year. fiinews.com
