CIL's 3.25 MT capacity project in Maharashtra to start by month-end

Coal India's mining project in Maharashtra with a production capacity of 3.25 million tonnes per year will be commissioned by the month-end, as the PSU targets one billion tonnes of production by 2020.

"By the end of this month, Western Coalfields Ltd's (WCL) Amalgamated Pauni-II & III OC (Open Cast) coal mining project in Maharashtra will be commissioned", WCL's Director (Technical) Binoy Kr Mishra told PTI.

WCL is one of the subsidiaries of state-run Coal India Ltd (CIL).

Mishra further said that in the current fiscal, eight mines of WCL have already been commissioned.

In the last fiscal, three mines which were commissioned include Penganga OC mining project and Bhanegaon OC mine.

Mishra further exuded confidence that WCL will meet its production target of 45.1 million tonnes set for the current fiscal.

The Coal India arm is planning an output of 100 million tonnes in another five years.

"In order to help CIL achieve its stupendous production target of one billion tonnes by 2019-20, Western Coalfields is planning to enhance coal production by 150 per cent", Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal had said last month.

Lauding WCL for resetting its production target from 60 million tonnes (MT) to 100 MT by 2020, the Minister had said that enhancing coal production will help provide electricity to the deprived parts of the country.

Goyal had hailed WCL for acquiring 2,500 hectare land and generating 1,300 direct employment opportunities to farmers who have given their land in last one year.

The enhanced production will not only fulfil coal demand of Maharashtra but will also provide relief to the southern areas of the country, he had said.