PMO favours joint mining by NTPC, RPower in Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: Theprime minister's office has recommended that NTPC and Reliance Power should jointly mine adjacent coal blocks in Jharkhand to help them extract about 200 million tonnes of additional coal that would have been lost if the mines were delineated and drilled independently, government and company officials said. The proposal also has the backing of Parliament's standing committee on coal.

NTPC chairman and managing director Arup Roy Choudhury told ET that the company has found merit in the proposal. "It is a good proposal. But we have to examine it closely since we would start production much ahead of them. These evaluations would take some time," he said.

As per statutory norms, companies owning different blocks are required to maintain a "safety angle" between the blocks, reducing the amount of coal they can extract.

A Reliance Power spokesperson confirmed the development and said: "This is the optimum way to mine coal for promoting coal conservation. We look forward to discussing with NTPC on how to co-ordinate mining operations."

Reliance Power had sought government's approval for joint exploration of coal mines attached with Tilaiya ultra mega power project and NTPC's Kerandari A and Pakri Barwadih blocks. Tilaiya blocks - Kerandari B and Kerandari C - lie in between NTPC's Kerandari A and Pakri Barwadih blocks.

"The proposal has been recommended by PMO and the standing committee on coal. We have written to the power ministry seeking directions to NTPC for the same. The two companies should now be working toward a strategy to extract coal blocked in barriers and batters in their respective coalfields. They will have to get the strategy approved by the government," a coal ministry official said.