Coal news and updates

Quantity of coal on port trust land halves, questions unanswered

The quantity of coal lying on Mumbai Port Trust land has almost halved in the last few months. For much of this year, 1.5 lakh metric tons of coal formed lethal mountains along the city's eastern seafront. As of Tuesday morning, the figure had come down to around 74,000 metric tons.

Over the last six months, TOI has campaigned against coal handling on port land. It has greatly damaged the environment for a decade and has affected the health of those who live, work and study in the area.

In September, the port trust had issued a public notice saying it would stop handling coal from October 31. The notice said vessels carrying coal would not be allowed on port land after September 24, and coal importers would have to clear the area by October 30. Incidentally , the port trust's `consent to operate' for coal from the state pollution control board was set to expire by the end of October.

However, the port trust was under immense pressure to restart coal operations. The pollution control board went in to renew the port trust's consent to operate for coal, provided it fulfills stringent conditions that are virtually unimplementable.

Much of the coal is transported by rail wagons from port land to Mahagenco units in Bhusawal and Nashik. "If no new ships are bringing coal to port land for the last few months, and the existing coal is urgently required for po wer generation in Maharashtra, why are 74,000 tons of coal still lying in Mumbai?" asks Vice-Admiral (retd) IC Rao, who, along with banker Meera Sanyal, had petitioned the high court against coal handling on port land last year.

Rao says the port trust is violating its own public notice and should have cleared the area of coal. "Their notice sa ys the area should be cleared by October 30. Even if a grace period of a month were to be given to them, they have yet to fulfill their own conditions," says Rao.

He does not see why a fresh `consent to operate' for coal should stop the port trust from following its own public notice.

"Our concern is that vested interests are trying to maintain a lien on portland so that they can continue to abuse the space for the dumping of coal. We are determined to prevent this at any cost," says Sanyal.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com