GUWAHATI, July 03: The Assam government and Coal India Limited (CIL) have decided to conduct joint inspections at coal mining sites every fortnight to curb illegal mining in the state.

This decision was made during a meeting between Assam chief secretary Ravi Kota and CIL chairman and managing director PM Prasad, along with senior officials, at Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Kota highlighted the sporadic incidents of illegal mining activities and suggested that CIL authorities, in coordination with district administrations, address these issues by considering area-specific factors, such as coal intake by locals residing near the extraction areas.

During the meeting, CIL authorities agreed that joint inspections of the mining areas could be conducted fortnightly to regulate and mitigate illegal mining activities.

The chief secretary reviewed the progress of ongoing North Eastern Coalfields (NECIL) projects during a meeting with Coal India Limited (CIL) CMD PM Prasad and senior officials in Guwahati.

Kota also emphasized that under chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s leadership, the Assam government is committed to developing Assam as a sustainable and environmentally clean source of coal for relevant industries. This initiative aims to reduce coal imports and boost employment generation in the region.

Kota stated that the Assam government is exploring ways to maximize the exploration and utilization of coal resources to accelerate economic growth.

Currently, a coal mine in the Margherita sub-division of Tinsukia district, managed by North Eastern Coalfields (NECIL), is actively extracting coal with an annual production of 2 lakh metric tonnes (MT).

The coal production at the Margherita sub-division mine is expected to increase to 3 lakh tonnes per annum soon, with efforts underway to expand production to 15 lakh tonnes (1.5 million tonnes) per annum. To achieve this, coordinated actions involving the Revenue & Disaster Management, Environment & Forest, and Mines & Mineral departments of the Assam government, in collaboration with NECIL, will be undertaken.

The increased coal production will meet the requirements of state-based industries and significantly boost the state’s revenue.

To improve the livelihood of the mining workforce through targeted corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, CIL authorities may identify schools and hospitals in mining areas and work on necessary infrastructural development.

Kota stated that the concerned district administrations would provide necessary assistance when CIL shares proposals in this context, ensuring the advancement of the mining populace as per the government’s requirements.

The review meeting was attended by Lakshmanan S, secretary of the industries, commerce & PE department, B Veera Reddy, technical director of CIL, N Anand, director of geology & mining, and other senior officials.

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