Mahanadi Coalfields hits hurdle in building loop line

It is a land acquisition hurdle, but with a difference. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd’s (MCL) plan to build the Talcher-Angul loop line, of a little over 30 km, to speed up evacuation from the resource-rich Talcher mines, has hit a roadblock in a 3-km stretch, at Natara village.

While the miner needs just 41 acres of largely mono-crop land held by a section of villagers, Natara is offering the Coal India (CIL) subsidiary the entire 500 acres of non-coal bearing agricultural and homestead land in its possession. Its condition: MCL should offer jobs to all the village households against acquisition.

Evacuation at stake

Though the regulations permit CIL to offer jobs only against acquisition of coal-bearing land, the miner was ready to make a compromise, for the sake of the project. It did offer jobs, but only against the required 41 acres, to which villagers did not agree. They want jobs for every household.

Awarded to RITES in 2006, at an estimated cost of Rs 29 crore, the loop line should extend the present 14.2 km single-line link to the coalfield. Since the existing line ends at the 60 million tonne (mt) capacity coalfield, rake movement is slow, leading to stocks building up at the pit-heads.

Once connectivity is in place, rakes can enter from one end and exit from the other, reducing turnaround time. According to MCL estimates, it should augment coal evacuation by over 50 per cent to 50 rakes a day, without any increase in the number of rakes.

This, coupled with company’s Rs 600-crore initiative to introduce silo operations – which loads a cargo train in 30 minutes – in the coalfield, should enhance coal movement further in 3-4 years.

Legal puzzle

But the entire plan may now be hit. “Leave alone offering jobs, we will not be able to justify acquisition of excess non-coal bearing land,” an MCL official told Business Line .

As things stand now, land is available for the entire stretch, except 3 km, leaving MCL clueless about the project completion date.

The bigger concern is: Talcher is one of India’s largest thermal coal reserves. And the miner has already taken up projects to step up production from the field to 90 mt in three years, paving way for an additional 6,000 MW of power generation capacity.

Naturally, Natara’s aspirations, unless fulfilled, may add to the woes of this energy-hungry country.

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