The Ministry of Coal on Monday announced that it will take up additional 19 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects for Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) with a capacity of 330 million tonnes (MT), which will be implemented by FY26-27.

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The ministry has already initiated 55 FMC projects at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore, totalling 526 MTPA (44 CIL, five SCCL, and tehre NLCIL). Of these, eight projects, totalling 95.5 MTPA in capacity (six CIL projects and two SCCL projects), have been commissioned. The remaining will follow by the end of the FY25.

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"To ensure efficient and environment-friendly coal evacuation in future, the Ministry is working on the development of National Coal Logistic Plan including First Mile Connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of rail network in coalfields," it said in a statement.

The Coal Ministry has set production goals of 1.31 billion tonnes of coal by FY25 and 1.5 billion tonnes by FY30. In this context, it is critical to devise coal transportation that is affordable, quick, and environmentally-safe, it informed.

It has also taken steps to enhance the automated coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects and has devised a plan for an integrated approach to reduce road transportation of coal.

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According to the ministry, installation of coal handling plants (CHPs) and silos with rapid loading systems as part of these projects will bring benefits like coal crushing and sizing and efficient coal loading using computer-aided systems.

A study conducted by the Coal Ministry through the National Environmental Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, in 2020–2021, established that these projects would result in yearly carbon emission savings, a reduction in truck movement density, and diesel savings of Rs 2100 crore per year.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)