67 first-mile connectivity coal projects to be completed by 2027: Govt

New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): The Ministry of Coal has taken up 67 first-mile connectivity projects through its companies with a capacity to load 885 million tonnes of coal annually. These projects will be completed by 2027.

A review meeting was chaired here by M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal to assess the progress of those coal projects.

In order to eliminate road transportation of coal in mines, the Ministry has developed a plan to improve the mechanized coal transportation and loading system under these upcoming projects.

Reduced manual intervention and quick loading are some of the benefits of such first-mile coal projects.

“Rakes and wagons will be more readily available if loading times are reduced. Less traffic on the roads means less pollution and diesel consumption,” the ministry said Friday.

Meanwhile, the government has set a target to generate 1.3 billion tonne coal in FY25 (2024-25) and 1.5 billion tonne in 2029-30 in order to increase India’s energy security and realise ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ by substituting domestically mined coal for imported coal.