Green panel to CIL: No expansion of units sans public hearing

CIL's ambitious plan to double its capacity to about one billion tonnes by 2020 is likely to hit a roadblock with a green panel refusing it permission for one-time capacity expansion in existing projects "without public hearing".
Facing hurdles like land acquisition and green clearances among others, the coal giant had sought blanket permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) for expansion of output from existing operations by 50 per cent.
"Blanket permission for 50 per cent expansion without public hearing under... EIA Notification, 2015, and without capping for sustainable mining cannot be given," the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEF has said.

According to the minutes of the EAC meeting, which was held on July 16-17, enhancement in production capacity will automatically reduce the mine life and adversely impact livelihood of local communities besides impacting air quality, coal handling and transportation.
"While considering any such proposal, a detailed sample study for socio-economic aspects needs to be carried out to assess the extent of impact," the EAC noted.
Under pressure from the government to augment output, the PSU had approached the MoEF as its future coal mining projects are stuck on account of delays in land acquisition, rehabilitation and other issues.

CIL said around 172 projects still require land, 73 projects have R&R issues, 121 projects require development of railway infrastructure for coal evacuation, 212 projects require environment clearance and 154 projects need forest clearance.

The firm has pleaded that it is facing hurdles to increase production to 908 million tonnes in 2019-20 from the existing level of 500 million tonnes.
"The only option left with CIL is to enhance production from existing and ongoing projects. This will be achieved by advancing project activities and resources without deviating from the environmental norms," it said.
Also, there is a delay in authentication of land and R&R sites by state authorities, exorbitant demand from project affected peoples beyond the norms, delay in obtaining NoC from state authorities as well as handover of forest land, delaying the commissioning of future projects, it reasoned.