(PTI)
State-owned CIL’s 10 coal mining projects have got green nod so far for their expansion which would lead to additional capacity of 9.65 million tonne, Parliament was informed on Monday. The government had earlier eased the norms for coal mine expansion in the wake of supply crunch in summer months.
Replying to a query in Rajya Sahba, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said of the 10 projects of Coal India Ltd (CIL), three are in Odisha, two each are in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and one in Chhattisgarh. While in five coal mining expansion projects, environment clearances (EC) was given in May, in the remaining five cases the nod was given in July. While granting EC to these projects, which are falling within and outside the severely polluted area, additional environmental safeguards have been provided as part of EC condition.