Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik peeved with coal mines allocation to WCL

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has voiced discontent over the Coal ministry's decision to allocate four new coal mines to Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) instead of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

The Ministry of Coal has decided to allot Rampia, dip side of Rampia, Ghogarpalli and dip extension of Ghogarpalli to WCL. All coal blocks are located in the jurisdiction of MCL. Both WCL and MCL are subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd (CIL).

In a letter to Coal minister Piyush Goyal, Patnaik said WCL with its headquarters at Nagpur (Maharashtra) may not be in a position to effectively tackle the issues which are critical to the smooth operationalization of coal mines. "Operationalization of coal mines requires close coordination with the local administration for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected families", he reasoned.

In last fiscal, MCL has clocked a record coal production of 143 million tonnes. With a more focused approach on rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families, production can go further in partnership with the local communities.