Coal Ministry To Take Up Additional 19 First Mile Connectivity Projects, To Be Implemented By FY27

The Ministry of Coal has announced that it will be implementing 19 additional First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects for Coal India and SCCL with a capacity of 330 million tonnes by the financial year 2026-2027.

"The ministry has already undertaken 55 FMC projects (44 – CIL, 5- SCCL & 3 – NLCIL) of 526 MTPA capacity with an investment of Rs 18,000 crore. Out of which eight projects (6-CIL & 2-SCCL) of 95.5 MTPA capacity have been commissioned and the remaining will be commissioned by FY2025," the Coal Ministry said in a statement on Monday (2 January).

To ensure efficient and environment-friendly coal evacuation in future, the ministry is working on the development of National Coal Logistic Plan including First Mile Connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of rail network in coalfields.

The ministry is working on the development of a National Coal Logistic Plan, including FMC projects to ensure the efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation of coal in the future.

To achieve this, the ministry is working on developing a cost-effective, fast, and environmentally-friendly coal transportation system.

"The Ministry has formulated a strategy to develop an integrated approach for eliminating road transportation of coal in mines and has taken steps to upgrade mechanised coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects," the statement said.

These projects will include the installation of Coal Handling Plants and SILOs with Rapid Loading Systems, which will provide benefits such as the crushing and sizing of coal and the efficient loading of coal using computer-aided systems.

A study conducted by the Coal Ministry through the National Environmental Research Institute (NEERI) in 2020-2021 found that these projects would result in yearly carbon emission savings, a reduction in truck movement density, and diesel savings of Rs 2,100 crore per year.