CIL calls for revisit on 'no-go' areas for coal mining

Peeved over the Ministry of Environment and Forest delineating almost 40% of the total coal-bearing areas across nine coalfields of the country as 'no-go' zones for any mining activity, the public sector coal major, Coal India Limited (CIL) has sought a revisit on the assessment, to look into the possibility of increasing the 'go' zones, where mining activities are permitted by the MoEF. Specifically, the Chairman of CIL, Partha S Bhattacharyya, has raised concerns over the identification of the entire Hasdeo-Arand Coalfields, bearing a potential coal reserve of 100 million tonnes (MT), as a 'no-go' zone, as this move would only aggravate the prevailing coal shortage in the country, and, hence, has sought respite. The CIL-chairman made this appeal during the recently-held meeting of the Planning Commission for discussion on the issues hampering coal production in domestic coal mines.

Pertinently, the MoEF has prepared the maps of nine major coalfields in the country, indicating the boundaries of the constituent coal blocks, vis-a-vis the forest cover in the area. These maps have been jointly developed by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), under the MoEF, and the Central Mine Planning &Design Institute Limited (CMPDI) to indicate the existing forest cover and location of already identified coal blocks. The exercise was aimed to facilitate transparent and objective grant of forest clearance to various coal blocks lying under the command area of these coalfields. A similar exercise for the remaining major coalfields in the country is presently underway. Apart from the Hasdeo-Arand Coalfield in Chhattisgarh, Singrauli Coalfield, Wardha Coalfield, IB Valley Coalfield, North Karanpura Coalfield, West Bokaro Coalfield, Talcher Coalfield, Sohagpur Coalfield and Mandraigarh Coalfield have already been mapped by the MoEF, clearly indicating 'go' and 'no-go' areas.