Coal India Ltd (CIL) is implementing a Rs 15,000 crore project for mechanised transportation and automatic loading of dry fuel in 49 major mines. Altogether 650 million tonne of coal will be transported and loaded without manual intervention after the project is completed by 2024, as per reports. The miner seeks to reduce manual intervention to overcome the perennial problems of overloading and underloading of coal when it is supplied to consumers. The project, which will also help stem pollution, is complete in two mines and construction work is going on in seven others, added reports. The tendering process would be completed for 26 mines soon and the project would be implemented in those mines by 2022-23. Coal India has identified another 14 mines where the project would be tendered out by the January-March quarter of the current fiscal. The project would be completed by 2024, add reports.
The total estimated loading capacity after implementation of the project in these 49 mines would be around 650 million tonne. CIL has set a production target of one billion tonne by 2023-24. The new project involves setting up coal handling plants with mechanised transport systems through piped conveyor belts replacing existing road movement of dry fuel. Piped conveyor belt transportation is a covered system for movement of coal and thus it promotes environment safety and prevents possible coal pilferage.