Coal mines being diversified: Centre

Chennai: Ministry of Coal secretary Amrit Lal Meena on Saturday said coal mines are in a diversification mode as mined out or de-coaled land is being used for setting up alternate sources of energy. The secretary, who was in Chennai to address a meeting on 'Make In India' initiatives in mining equipment, spoke on initiatives of the coal ministry in promoting alternative energy sources.

"NLC India has an installed capacity of 15,000MW of solar energy, which is the highest by any PSU in the country. NLC will explore possibilities of setting up alternate energy sources such as solar panels and windmills in states such as Rajasthan," Meena said.

He said NLC was in talks with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to establish a small modular nuclear reactor, and the process was in its initial stages. "NLC established a pumped storage hydropower plant in de-coaled areas," Meena said.

On the rising cost of logistics for coal, Meena said the Union coal ministry was promoting rail-sea-rail routes to reduce cost of transportation. "The recently launched National Logistics Policy by the PM aims at reducing logistics cost from 14% of GDP to 8%," said Meena.