CIL washeries: Three under construction, issuance of LoA for five

Out of 15 Coal India washeries to be operationalised by 2017, only three with a capacity of 11.6 MTPA are at the construction stage while letters of assurance have been issued with regard to five others.

Setting up of washeries at a faster rate will hasten the coal washing process and provide quality coal to CIL customers.

"Three coal washeries are at the construction stage. Letters of assurance (LoAs) with regard to five washeries with a capacity of 34.5 MTPA have already been issued," an official said.

The official further said tenders for two washeries with a capacity of 2.5 MT per year are under evaluation.

"There will be retendering for four washeries with a capacity of 49 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) while one washery will be freshly tendered," the official added.

The Coal Ministry had earlier this year informed a Parliamentary panel that it will establish 15 coal washeries, which will be made operational by September next year.

These washeries will be built in two phases on Build-own -Maintain and EPC contract on turnkey basis.

The Ministry of Coal has asked the Environment Ministry to expedite the process of green clearances to CIL washeries so that the company can provide quality coal to its customers.

In a meeting last month, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal requested Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave to hasten the process of green nod to washeries, an official said.

The government had earlier said that challenge is not quantity but quality of the fossil fuel.

A couple of days ago, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said the government's focus has now shifted to the quality of coal.