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Kishan Reddy calls for joint efforts by States, Centre in coal & mining sectors

The Union Minister for Coal and Mines expresses confidence of India soon becoming a global destination for critical minerals

 Hyderabad: Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy called for moving forward by creating a universally acceptable model centred on environmental protection, economic development, and worker welfare.

Addressing the National Conference of State Coal and Mines Ministers in Konark, Odisha, on Monday, he expressed confidence that with the support of the state governments, India will soon become a global destination in the critical minerals sector. Along with this, we should also identify coal production as a priority, he said.

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Kishan Reddy said that coal consumption is now slowly reaching sustainability across the world. But in India, coal consumption is set to increase further by 2040. "We need about 2 billion tonnes of coal per year. State government support is essential to meet this demand. Along with this, various steps need to be taken to achieve sustainability in the coal and mining sector."

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Currently, India has a renewable energy capacity of only 200 gigawatts. The central government is working towards taking this to 500 gigawatts by 2030. The coal and mining sectors need to play a key role in this.

In this direction, the coal sector is moving forward with a target of generating 15.5 GW of renewable electricity by 2030.

“Currently, solar power and pumped storage plants are set up on 2,500 hectares of de-coaled land (completed coal mines) in India. Similarly, there is a need to encourage solar power generation on all de-coaled lands. In addition, we have launched a coal gasification system with an investment of Rs 8,500 crore. We are working towards gasifying 100 million tonnes of coal by 2030. In addition, we have also paid special attention to the closure of mines after mining activity is completed.

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We all need to work together for this. There is a need to formulate an action plan by involving locals and NGOs in this,” he said.

“In addition, there is a need for effective implementation of all the relevant schemes. I seek the full cooperation of the state governments in this regard. The state governments should also pay special attention to the proper utilisation of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Trust funds and they should be used for the right needs,” the Union Minister emphasised.

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“Nearly 5 lakh jobs are created in the coal sector. To further increase employment opportunities in this sector, state governments should focus on skill development and capacity building. In addition, the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) is playing a key role in increasing exploration. So far, 329 projects are funded through NMET. All states should take advantage of the benefits of NMET. In addition, state mineral exploration trusts should be set up. Illegal mining has become a big problem in the country. It should be stopped with the help of modern technology. For this, the cooperation of state governments is required”, he added. Towards this end, the Central government introduced the ‘Mining Surveillance System’ in 2016. Through this, alerts are issued immediately if any unusual activities occur.