Reopening of Defunct Coal Mines
Reopening of Defunct Coal Mines
No coal deposit has been reported yet in the State of Rajasthan. The focus of the efforts made by the Government is on increasing the domestic production of coal and to eliminate non-essential import of coal in the country. Most of the requirement of coal in the country is met through indigenous production and supply. The steps taken by the Government to sustain growth in production of coal are as under:
In addition to the above, coal companies have also taken the following steps to increase domestic coal production:
Ministry of Coal has initiated steps to re-open closed / discontinued mines recognizing their latent potential, under a Revenue Sharing Model. It aims to optimize the utilization of the nation’s coal resources while ensuring that safety and profitability are maintained. This will enhance domestic coal availability and efficient utilization of existing coal resources. A total of 34 abandoned mines under Revenue Sharing Model have been offered, out of which, 24 have been awarded. None of the identified mines are located in the State of Rajasthan.
Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis was launched on 18.06.2020. The all India coal production in the year 2023-2024 was 997.826 MT in comparison to 716.083 MT in the year 2020- 2021 with a growth of about 39.35 %.
Reform measures introduced by the Government to allow wider participation from private players including international investors in the coal mining sector are as under:
Some other measures to allow wider participation from private players in the coal block auctions are reduced upfront payment, adjustment of upfront amount against royalty, liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalize the coal mines, transparent bidding process and allowing Security Creation to avail financing from the financial institutions.
This information was given by Union Minister of Coal and Mines Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
- Regular reviews by Ministry of Coal to expedite the development of coal blocks.
- Enactment of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021 [MMDR Act] for enabling captive mines owners (other than atomic minerals) to sell up to 50% of their annual mineral (including coal) production in the open market after meeting the requirement of the end use plant linked with the mine in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government on payment of such additional amount.
- Single Window Clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalization of coal mines.
- Project Monitoring Unit for hand-holding of coal block allottees for obtaining various approvals / clearances for early operationalization of coal mines.
- Auction of commercial mining on revenue sharing basis launched in 2020. Under commercial mining scheme, rebate of 50 % on final offer has been allowed for the quantity of coal produced earlier than scheduled date of production. Further, incentives on coal gasification or liquefaction (rebate of 50 % on final offer) have been granted.
- Terms and conditions of commercial coal mining are very liberal with no restriction on utilization of coal, allowing new companies to participate in the bidding process, reduced upfront amount, adjustment of upfront amount against monthly payment, liberal efficiency parameters to encourage flexibility to operationalize the coal mines, transparent bidding process, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route and revenue sharing model based on the National Coal Index.