The Coal Ministry is in the process of enhancing the country’s cumulative coal production to an ambitious 1.23 billion tonnes (BT) by FY25, from both Coal India (CIL) and non-CIL blocks, to ensure energy security.
CIL has adopted an integrated planning approach by strengthening evacuation infrastructure for one billion tonnes of production and seamless transportation to end-users, the Ministry said in a statement.
The North Karanpura Coalfield in Jharkhand falls within the command of Central Coalfields (CCL) with coal resources of about 19 BT.
CCL has projected production of about 135 million tonnes (MT) by FY25, of which about 85 MT is likely to be produced from the North Karanpura Coalfield, from several greenfield/ brownfield projects, such as the Amrapali (25 MT), Magadh (51 MT), Chandragupta (15 MT) and Sanghmitra (20 MT) projects.
At present, coal evacuation from the North Karanapura coalfield is covered by the Barkakana-Daltonganj branch railway line of the East Central Railway, connecting Gomoh and Dehri-on-Sone via Barkakana loop.
CCL has created an additional railway line, the Tori-Shivpur (44.37 km) double railway line. A third line in the same alignment is under construction at an additional capital of Rs 894 crore, which is likely to be operationalised by May 2023.
Further, Shivpur-Kathautia, a new 49-km rail line has been envisaged and is being constructed through a project-specific SPV, which will provide another exit for coal evacuation via Koderma to the trunk railway line from Howrah to Delhi.
Construction of the Tori-Shivpur-Kathautia rail line, envisaged by the Coal Ministry under the PM Gati Shakti initiative, is likely to provide coal evacuation capacity of about 125 MT by rail and play a major role in eliminating coal transportation by road.
Published on
August 31, 2022