Coal Ministry to take up 19 additional projects

04 Jan 2023 CW Team

For Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the Ministry of Coal will take on an additional 19 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects with a combined capacity of 330 million tonnes. These projects will be completed by the fiscal year 2026–2027.

The coal ministry announced on Monday that it had already invested 180,000 million in 55 such projects, totaling 526 MTPA in capacity (44 CIL, 5 SCCL, and 3 NLCIL).

"Eight projects, of which six (CIL) and two (SCCL) are of 95.5 MTPA capacity have been put into service, and by FY2025 the remaining capacity will as well "a release from the ministry stated.

The Ministry of Coal is establishing the National Coal Logistic Plan, which includes first-mile connectivity (FMC) through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening the rail network in coalfields, to enable efficient and environmentally beneficial coal evacuation in the future.

Additionally, the Ministry has set production goals for coal of 1.31 billion tonnes by 2024–2025 and 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029–2030.

For such a goal, it is crucial to build coal transportation that is affordable, quick, and environmentally benign. "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 mechanized coal transportation and loading system under FMC projects. Coal Handling Plants (CHPs) and SILOs with Rapid Loading Systems will have benefits like crushing, sizing coal and speedy computer-aided loading," the release said.

Infrastructure Transport

15 Sep 2025

Cabinet Approves Key Highway and Rail Projects in Bihar Region

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the four-laning of the 84.2-km Mokama-Munger section of the Buxar-Bhagalpur high-speed corridor, a key industrial region in poll-bound Bihar. The Cabinet also sanctioned the doubling of the 177-km Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat railway line, which passes through Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, at a cost of Rs 31.7 billion.The Rs 44.5 billion highway project will be constructed under the hybrid annuity model, a variant of public-private partnership. The Mokama-Munger stretch was the only remaining two-lane section of the 363-km Buxar-Bhagalpur corridor. Fou..

NGT Issues Notice on Bengaluru Twin Tunnel Project

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday issued notices in response to a petition filed by Bengaluru Praja Vedike and others, challenging the Bengaluru twin tunnel road project. Petitioners claim the project was “hastily announced” and bypassed mandatory environmental impact assessment procedures.Notices have been served to the Karnataka Government, Greater Bengaluru Authority, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B-SMILE), the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and project consultants.The 16.74-km twin-tube..

India’s Residential Sales to Dip Slightly in FY26

Residential sales in India’s seven major cities are projected to decline by up to 3 per cent year-on-year in FY26 to 620–640 million square feet (msf), amid a moderation in sales velocity, according to ratings agency Icra.In FY25, sales stood at 643 msf, down 8 per cent YoY, following a sharp contraction in new launches and moderated demand in the affordable and mid-income segments. This slowdown came after the sector posted a robust compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent in area sales between FY22 and FY24.Icra noted: “Having seen a strong upcycle, the sector entered an equilibrium ..