Coal India has identified 476 mines for closure and mine closure plan has been prepared and approved for 445 mines till July 31, Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, Mines and New & Renewable Energy, informed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Thursday.

Further, as per guidelines, ₹4,387 crore has been deposited in an escrow account by Coal India for the mine closures. The money deposited is mainly for restoration work.

“The Ministry of Coal has undertaken special plans for studying each coal mine for preparing its closure plans. In the plan, special emphasis has been placed on efficient usage of water for the purposes of drinking, irrigation after appropriate treatment and ground water recharge,” an official statement said.

In a presentation made by Coal India at the Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting, an overview was given on the guidelines, major initiatives and activities being undertaken by Coal India and its subsidiaries under the mine closure plan.

The Parliamentary Consultative Committee members appreciated the efforts taken by the Ministry and Coal India with regard to mine closure, a statement added.

In another Parliamentary Consultative meeting on Power, Goyal informed the members that villages in Naxal affected areas and other inaccessible regions are being expeditiously connected with off-grid power solutions.

Village electrification

The Minister informed the members that according to the latest figures, 10,007 villages have been electrified in the country as on July 31 and ₹42,392 crore has been sanctioned for various rural electrification projects under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana.

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