In A bid to overcome its coal crisis, India has sought technology transfer on extraction of steep seam coal from coal rich nations, besides proposing joint ventures on coal drying and fine coal beneficiation to the coal mining task force (CMTF).

Coal shortage in India has been wreaking havoc on the power sectors. Domestic shortfall of coal for 2004-05 was estimated at over 30 million mt. Production has not been able to keep pace with demand, not only from power plants, but also from other sectors like sponge iron following the upturn in the steel industry. Coal stocks of power plants, which was at 14.8 million mt in 2001-02, stood depleted 47% to around 8 million mt in September 2004.

A total of 16 projects including seven from India have been finalised for action in the draft action plan, at the end of the two-day meeting of the CMTF held recently, coal ministry sources said. These 16 projects include economic modeling of coal beneficiation, information sharing on coal processing; coal drying, waste coal management, thick seam mining, steep seam mining, overbuden dump stability and underground coal gasification, sources said.

“Once approved by PIC in its meeting in South Korea next October, projects proposed by India and other nations would be ready for implementation. The Indian coal industry is likely to benefit immensely through these projects,” sources argued.

The CMTF draft action plan also finalised recommendations on increasing efficacy of workforce planning, health and safety, practices on sustainable coal development, dousing coalfield fires, reclamation of legacy mines, increasing recovery and use of coal bed methane, sources said.

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