If the Commercial Mining begins in Jharkhand, then, 37 Million Tonne Per Annum(MTPA) will be contributed to the Nation and help in reducing coal import.
In the first phase of coal auction, 41 coal blocks have been identified in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. There are nine coal blocks- Gondulpara( Hazaribagh), Choritand Tiliaya (Bokaro), Chakla (Latehar), Chitarpur( Latehar),North Dhadu (Latehar) ,Seregarha (Latehar), Rajhara North(Central and Eastern, Palamu), Urma Paharitola (Dumka and Pakur) and Brahmadiha (Giridih) in Jharkhand. These mines will contribute 37 MTPA.
In the fiscal 2019-20, India has to import large quantities of coal to meet the current requirements. The Country consumed a total of 958 MT of coal in FY 2019-20, of which only 707 million tonnes were produced by CIL and its subsidiaries including CCL. The Country imported 251 million tonnes of coal, which is about 26 per cent of the Country's total requirement. The Country spent more than Rs 1,50,000 crore on this import.
Some of this import is of coking coal, which has not substitute but the Country has to import as coking coal reserve is limited in our Country but the import of non-coking coal is avoidable. The foreign exchange can help the Country to carry out major public welfare works.
sThe Government’s recent announcement to permit coal mining for commercial sale marks a fundamental shift in the Government policy to address the shortfall in domestic coal production to meet the Country’s requirements. The Government has allowed 100 per cent Foreign Director Investment (FDI) in the area of coal mining associate processing and selling of coal.
At the moment, China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world and accelerating its development by extensive exploitation of its coal reserves. Coal has been continuing to play a dominant role in the energy sector in China despite its decreasing share in energy sector. China promotes the use of clean coal technologies and stricter environmental norms for coal-fired power plants.
The need of coal for the development of the Country is increasing rapidly.
According to an estimate, the Country will need about 2000 million tonnes (MT) of coal by the year 2030. The Government suspects that Coal India and other overnment companies cannot meet this requirement only through their production.