Coal India aims green mining options: Chairman

State-owned CIL is aiming at green mining options and increasing production from its underground mines, which are favorable for a cleaner ecosystem, through the installation of technologies, the company's Chairman Pramod Agrawal said.

The comments come at a time when there have been concerns about global climate change on account of the burning of fossil fuels including coal, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions.

For environmentally cleaner transportation of coal, Coal India (CIL) is setting up coal handling plants/silos in 35 projects under the first phase of the first-mile connectivity and stressed that it is continuing in the second phase as well.

''The company is also aiming at green mining options and planning to increase its underground output,'' he said.

Stating that CIL is committed to the preservation of the environment and creating a green canopy around its mining areas, the chairman said that the public sector unit planted over 30.4 lakh saplings during FY22, expanding its green cover to 1,468.5 hectares.

The chairman said that 27 eco-parks and my tourism projects have been developed to date.

Satellite surveillance indicates that 76 major open-cast projects have reclaimed 62.5 percent of excavated area limiting the active mining area to 37.5 percent.

For every hectare of land degraded due to mining, CIL created the green cover of around 2 hectares of land.

Coal India accounts for over 80 percent of domestic coal output.