Sambalpur: In a good news for non-thermal industries facing acute coal crisis, the Kulda opencast project (OCP) in Sundargarh district has become the first coal mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) to achieve its production target of 16 million tonne (MT) for financial year 2021-22.
Congratulating the team of Kulda OCP for the achievement, chairman-cum-managing director of MCL Om Prakash Singh said considering the current coal demand, if Kulda OCP and Garjanbahal OCP of Basundhara Area are given early environment clearance, they can contribute 5.4 MT more coal during the current fiscal.
“Kulda OCP has been very consistent in performance during the current fiscal. I congratulate Area General Manager Basundhara, the Project Officer and each member of his Team Kulda for their excellent performance,” said Singh.
He also said the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has recommended for increasing the production capacity of 16.8 MTY for Kulda OCP and 13 MTY for Garjanbahal OCP to 19.6 MTY and 15.6 MTY respectively. Garjanbahal OCP is also nearing its annual coal production target.
It may be noted that MCL has been recording a double-digit growth in coal production, despatch and overburden (OB) removal despite restrictions due to COVID pandemic and prolonged rainy season this fiscal.
As of date, the company has produced 146.4 MT coal, registering a growth of over 15% against same period last fiscal and despatched over 157 MT to consumers, which is 18% up from the last financial year. It has also registered a record growth of 22% over last fiscal in OB removal.
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