 Coal is the primary source of energy in India and accounts for about 55% of the total energy supplies. INTRODUCTION  Coal contributes to the extent of around 60% of total electrical power generated in India.  Its dominance as source of energy is expected to continue for long with contribution exceeding 50%.  Progressively increasing demand of coal and widening demand-availability gap is a concern for the country.

 CIL, being the largest producer of coal in India, plays a crucial role in the endeavor of meeting the growing energy needs of the country INTRODUCTION  With the active planning support extended by CMPDI since its inception, the nation has witnessed phenomenal growth in coal production.  Coal production increased from 79 Mt in to Mt in During , contribution of CIL to the total coal production was around 81%.  CMPDI has been playing a key role in shaping each of the subsidiary companies of CIL by :  fulfilling their planning requirements, and  proving coal reserves on regular basis in their respective command areas.

Trend of CIL’s Contribution to Coal Production of India

Trend of CIL’s Coal Production

Need for Production Enhancement  As per the XII Five Year Plan document, coal demand is expected to increase to Mt by the terminal year i.e., , and further it is projected to increase to 1373 Mt by the terminal year of XIII Plan i.e.,  In this perspective, it is projected that CIL would contribute to the extent of 615 Mt and 795 Mt by the terminal year of XII Plan and XIII Plan, respectively from the current production level of Mt.  Planning & implementing large number of high capacity mining projects is, therefore, urgently required.

 CMPDI has prepared a total of 691 project reports for CIL since inception contributing to the capacity addition of various coal producing subsidiary companies of CIL by as much as around 1167 Mt.  Additionally, around 420 odd project reports were also prepared, which actually did not contribute to the incremental production capacity of the mines of CIL due to various reasons viz., complex land, environment and R&R issues, geo-mining conditions, merged with other projects, economic unviability, etc. Mine Planning by CMPDI

Project Reports Prepared by CMPDI (Category-wise distribution by numbers)

Project Reports Prepared by CMPDI (Category-wise distribution by capacity Mt) PRs prepared by CMPDI since inception has results in total capacity addition of around 1167 Mt for CIL.

PRs prepared for Capacity Addition

 A total of 126 projects had been identified for XII Plan resulting in capacity addition of about 446 Mt per annum.  Against this, project reports for 93 projects, with capacity addition of about 337 Mt per annum have already been formulated.  Balance 33 Project Reports with capacity addition of about 109 Mt per annum will be formulated in subsequent years of XII Plan. Highlights of PRs for XII Plan

 38 large opencast projects have been planned by CMPDI each having capacity in excess of 10 Mt per annum: 33 projects have production capacity between 10 to 20 Mt per annum, two projects each of 25 Mt per annum capacity, and three projects each of 35 Mt, 40 Mt and 50 Mt per annum capacity, respectively  25 of these are already approved while remaining13 projects await approval; Highlights of PRs of High Capacity Opencast Projects

Planning for Mechanised Underground Projects  Continuous efforts are made by CMPDI to introduce mass production technology in underground mines of CIL wherever geo-mining conditions permit.  With the encouraging results from the first few installations of continuous miners in underground mines of CIL, large hope rests on this technology to help enhance production capacity and productivity of mines in near future.  There are presently seven mines deploying eight continuous miners with total planned production capacity of 3.35 Mt per annum.

Planning for Mechanised Underground Projects  Project reports for 18 mines, prepared by CMPDI with proposed deployment of 23 continuous miners, have already been approved for total planned production capacity of around Mt per annum.  Further, project reports for seven more mines have been prepared by CMPDI with proposed deployment of 17 continuous miners. The total envisaged production capacity of these mines will be around 7.57 Mt per annum, but these project reports are yet to be approved.  Despite unsatisfactory performance of longwall mining in the past, a renewed effort is being made to deploy longwall mining technology in a few mines under MDO mode namely, Moonidih, Muraidih and Kapuria mines in BCCL, and Jhanjra mine in ECL.

Planning for Mechanised Underground Projects  The likely capacity addition with the implementation of this Long wall technology would be around 8.9 Mt per annum.  Further, three more mines namely, Nand, Murpar and Borda of WCL have been identified for deployment of longwall mining technology.  Highwall mining and trench mining are another potential areas which can contribute significantly to enhance the coal production of the country.

Planning for Mechanised Underground Projects  With the application of modern highwall miner either at the exposed highwall of an opencast mine or in trenches, considerable amount of coal can now be recovered, which otherwise could not have been extracted economically either by opencast or underground method of mining.  At present, modern highwall miner technology has been implemented in Sharda opencast project of SECL.  Efforts are being made by CMPDI to identify more mines for the application of this technology.

Constraints & Challenges in Planning for Higher Production  Requirement of increased pace of exploration Achievement during :7 lakh meters of drilling Drilling target for : 12 lakh meters Drilling target for : 15 lakh meters  Large number of potential coal blocks fall under the forest cover of various categories requiring FC from MoEF and concerned state governments for permission to undertake exploration and mining in forest covered areas, which is a very time consuming and cumbersome process.  Further, as per the existing norms, drilling of only 20 boreholes are permitted per 10 square kilometers in the forest areas, which is not adequate for deciphering geological structures and estimating reserve of underlying coal seams with acceptable level of confidence for mine planning purpose.

Constraints & Challenges in Planning for Higher Production  Heavily built-up surface areas over and around coal blocks generally lead to :  intriguing land acquisition problems;  requirement of huge capital for R&R affecting the economics of the project;  compromised strategy in deciding mining limits and/ or even mining method at planning stage in order to protect some important surface features;  shortage of space for overburden dumping;  requirement of diversion of roads, nalas, etc. increasing the capex load on the project, etc.

Constraints & Challenges in Planning for Higher Production  Requirement of surface rights prior to depillaring with caving, as usually imposed as a condition by DGMS, leads to: well-known land acquisition problem; delays in commencement of depillaring operation; additional cost to the already ailing underground mines with higher cost of mining; reduced production and productivity if other alternative methods such as partial extraction or extraction with stowing is adopted.  If imposition of such condition is kept continued, most of the underground mining projects in future might not remain economically viable under the present criteria of economic viability of mining projects.

Constraints & Challenges in Planning for Higher Production  Lack of good rail networks in the green field areas and even in some parts of the active coalfield areas poses a serious constraint for the Indian coal industry.  Law and order problems particularly for coal blocks situated in states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh are serious issues for the mining industry and need to be addressed jointly by the concerned State Government and the Central Government.  Size and geometry of coal blocks sometimes become a constraint for planning for higher capacity mines.

 Enhancing pace of exploration by : mechanizing and modernizing the drilling operation conducted by all agencies engaged in coal exploration; adopting to other modern techniques of exploration viz., high resolution 2D and 3D seismic survey, borehole tomography, other advanced geophysical techniques, etc.; early revision of existing norm (of permitting for limited number of drill holes in forest areas) by MoEF, etc.  A system needs to be evolved jointly by the MoC, MoEF and the coal industry to avoid delays in forestry and environmental clearances.  Sensitive law and order problems cropping up during exploration as well as mining need to be handled jointly by the mining industry, Ministry of Coal (MoC) and local administration of the concerned State Government. Way Forward

 For establishing good rail network for the purpose of quick coal evacuation from the coalfields, co-ordinated effort between the MoC and Ministry of Railways is required. Instead of the usual practice of making provision for individual project, the approved master plan of coalfields should be taken as basis for planned development of this badly needed infrastructure.  Joining of smaller adjacent coal blocks may be considered for better exploitation of in-situ reserves and if needed, even a joint venture may be considered if the block is owned by a different company. Way Forward

 Exploring possibilities of implementing emerging backfilling technologies in underground mines for exploitation of coal beneath built-up surface areas. Suitability of some of these technologies such as backfilling with high water content material, paste, flyash, etc. may be examined by undertaking pilot projects.  Exploitation of other coal based energy sources such as CBM (Coalbed Methane), CMM (Coal Mine Methane), VAM (Ventilation Air Methane), UCG (Underground Coal Gasification), CTL (Coal to Liquid), etc. should also be considered as far as possible.  Possibilities of implementing highwall mining and trench mining to recover coal need to be explored. Way Forward

 CMPDI has the capability to plan for high capacity mines.  A number of constraints usually experienced need to be addressed strategically by the coal companies, local community, state governments and the Central Government jointly.  The following additional measures for success in our endeavour : Modernising exploration activities, Expeditious forestry and environmental clearances, Adopting suitable modern technology, Establishing rail corridors for coal evacuation, Pro-active support of and co-ordination among policy makers, regulators, various other government agencies, etc. Conclusions