The Hindu Business Line : Bengal eyes large coal block in Jharkhand

WEST Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd, (WBPDCL), the state-run power agency, is hopeful of getting a big opencast mine in the Pachwara north, coal block in Jharkhand for captive mining purposes.

The mining activity will be carried out by Bengal Emta Coalmines Ltd (BECML), the joint venture company promoted by the private sector Eastern Minerals & Trading Agency (EMTA), WBPDCL and Durgapur projects Ltd (a state-owned multi-utility company).

The prospecting survey will be done by this company and is expected to take about six months to complete, sources said, adding that this will be done under the supervision of the Ranchi-based Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDIL), a coal ministry outfit. The reserves of the opencast mine have been estimated to last for about 25 years at an annual output of six million tonnes.

The mining operations, which will commence only after the completion of the prospecting and the clearance by the Union Environment and Forest Ministry, are not likely to start before 2005-06, sources said.

Sources said that the committee set up by the Union Coal Ministry to examine WBPDCL's application for captive mines has reviewed the case and a firm decision is expected soon. Earlier the same committee earmarked a few smaller mines in Birbhum and Jharkhand, which have been already earmarked for WBPDCL. Survey work on these mines, which together have a one million tonnes per annum capacity is now on, according to sources.

Currently, BECML mines about three million tonnes of coal per annum, which partly fulfils the needs of WBPDCL whose annual coal requirements for its four power plants are about 12 million tonnes. These plants with a total capacity of 2250 MW, and located mostly in the western parts of the State, get fed by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, Eastern Coalfields Ltd and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.

WBPDCL sources indicated that the additional coal output from the new mines would be needed for the power company's capacity addition programmes. WBPDCL is adding 1130 MW of capacity through green and brown-field projects. It would need about six million tonnes of coal additionally for these projects. While it is presently tied up with the Mahanadi and ECL for meeting the requirements of these new plants, it proposes to reduce its dependence on CIL gradually. "We are not at all satisfied with the quality of coal supplied by companies like ECL," a senior WBPDCL official said.

On BECML, sources said that this five-year-old company has so far mined over 13 million tonnes of coal from the blocks allocated to it. The need for new coal blocks arose out of the fact that the 29 million tonne coal reserve remaining in this area may not be sufficient for meeting the emerging needs.

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