In a bid to make up the loss of coal production due to COVID-19 impact this year (2020-21), the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has set itself a target of mining at least 30 million tonnes of the fossil fuel in the remainder of this fiscal – about five months – and achieve annual production of about 52 million tonnes.
Till October-end, the company could achieve only 60% of the target set for the current year due to the break out of COVID-19 that has impacted the economic sector badly. Against its plans to mine 36.42 million tonnes of coal during the first seven months of the current fiscal, Singareni could mine only 22.03 million tonnes of coal.
Similarly, against the target of dispatching 37.13 million tonnes of coal till October-end, the company has dispatched 21.86 million tonnes (59% of the target). “Now, we plan to extract an average of six million tonnes of coal every month during the November-March period”, company officials said adding that they have plans to dispatch higher quantity of coal during the remainder of the year.
At virtual review meeting held by CMD N. Sridhar with Area General Managers on Tuesday, he stated that the demand for coal from energy, cement and other industries had increased and it would provide an opportunity to the company to make up loss to some extent during the remainder of the financial year.
To make up the COVID-induced loss, it had been decided to extract about 30 million tonnes of coal over the five-month period till the closure of this financial year.
At least 13.5 lakh cubic meters of overburden had to be removed, Mr. Sridhar said.
Public hearing
The environmental public hearing for the SCCL’s project proposal for expansion of Gouthamkhani Opencast Project (GKOC) from the present 2.0 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 4.0 MTPA in Kothagudem area will be held in Kothagudem on November 27.
The proposed project envisages expansion of the GKOC in 902 hectares with a life of the project estimated at two years (up to 2021-22) and coal reserves of 3 to 3.5 million tonnes under the “violation category.” According to sources, the project falls under the “violation category” owing to the excess coal production to meet the burgeoning demand for coal in the past couple of years.