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Policy for alternate coal block allocation in works

• Coal ministry will come out with a policy on allocation of alternate coal blocks to captive consumers. Also, miners will have to mention range of quality of coal in letter of assurance while seeking environmental clearances. This was decided in a high-level inter ministerial meeting headed by finance minister Pranab Muherjee early this month.The need for a policy framework for allocation of alternate coal block has come up after environment ministry has rejected forest clearances to few blocks and recommended allocation of new mines in lieu of the first allocation.

• At present, there exist no framework that allows government to allocate second block if the first mine is denied regulatory clearance where the user is not at fault.The inter ministerial panel decided that government should amend the coal blocks allocation policy for all such blocks where the developer is not at fault, said a government official privy to development.For instance, environment ministry denied forest clearance for Morga-II project allocated to Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited. The ministry asked its counterpart coal for allocation of Bhalumunda mine to the user. However, coal ministry has opined that in the absence of any policy guidelines for such a step, it cannot allocate a new block.

• Another example is Lohara West and Lohara Extension coal projects in Maharashtra. The blocks were awarded to Adani Power for power project at Tiroda in the same state.Environment ministry denied environmental clearance citing its proximity to Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve.The panel suggested coal ministry to seek law ministry’s advice for framing guidelines for allocation of alternate blocks.Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, who is also part of the inter ministerial panel, stated that information about quality of coal to be used in the project, its source and distance with respect to the location of project are important to assess the likely adverse environmental impacts of such projects.Natarajan pointed out that in absence of correct data on quality of coal, the carrying capacity of the area may be computed wrongly that would adversely impact future planning of the area based on environmental considerations.

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