Coal India arm MCL registers record production, dispatch in FY21

MCL, a subsidiary of Coal

India Ltd, on Friday said it has posted a record production of 148.01 million tonne and achieved the highest-ever dispatch of 146 million tonne in the 2020-21 fiscal.

These achievements by the Odisha-based miner will help Coal India, a Maharatna PSU, strengthen its foundation to meet the one billion production target by 2024, an official said.

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd also registered a record of 174.5 MCuM of overburden removal in the last fiscal, its chairman-cum-managing Director P K Sinha told reporters.

Overburden removal is a process of removing topsoil and rock to expose coal seams in open cast mines.

He said Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd spent Rs 2,300 crore as capital expenditure, which was the highest among all Coal India subsidiaries in FY21.

"MCL is committed to supply clean coal with minimum impact on the environment. The company is implementing nine projects to provide a pollution-free rake loading system with a total expenditure of Rs 3,600 crore," Sinha said.

He said MCL had signed an agreement with the Odisha government and SUM Hospital for setting up medical facilities in Bhubaneswar and Talcher for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The company also established a dedicated COVID Health Centre in Jharsuguda, he said.

The miner had spent Rs 193 crore for its corporate social responsibility programme in the last fiscal, he added.