Kaniha, Balram coal mines face threat of becoming unviable due

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) on Wednesday said "sporadic stoppages" of mining operations at Kaniha and Balram coal mines in Talcher have pushed the two opencast projects towards the threshold of becoming economically unviable for the company. MCL, a subsidiary of state-run Coal India, faces difficulties to meet the target of 160 million tonne of coal production and supply due to intermittent obstructions by locals and operational challenges.

While coal mines in entire Talcher coalfields witnessed strikes and bandhs, Kaniha OCP (opencast project), with 10 million tonne annual production target, saw a record 1,269 hours of stoppages during the current financial year, MCL said in a statement. Operations at Balram OCP have remained affected for more than 1,001 hours due to strikes by people of the peripheral villagers till Tuesday, which is the second most affected mine due to stoppages, the miner said.

The operations at the mine were adversely impacted since October 6 due to a rift between residents of Solada and Danara villages. In cumulative figures, Kaniha OCP, which produces 25,000 tonne coal a day, has remained closed for more than 52 days this financial year, while Balram OCP under Hingula area has remained shut for 42 days due to strikes on "trivial or concocted issues for petty gains", it said.

At Talcher, all the coal mines of MCL have suffered stoppages to the operations during the current fiscal, with Lingaraj OCP being the least affected with closures of over 371 hours (more than 15 days) as recorded till Tuesday. These unwarranted strikes have put a question on the economic viability of Kaniha and Balram projects, which have provided permanent employment to many locals in lieu of tenancy land acquired by MCL under the CBA ( Coal Bearing Areas) Act, it said.

The contribution to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) by Balram and Kaniha mines for development of project- affected regions was estimated at Rs 70 crore for 2019-20, which is also "severely affected by villagers' strikes", the miner said. MCL has provided 1,392 permanent jobs to land losers as compensation for acquiring 687 hectare under the CBA Act at Kaniha OCP which was again closed on Sunday by the workers of a contractor firm, the statement said.

Similarly, at Balram OCP, 3,584 employments have been provided against 1,390 hectares of land. As on date, MCL has provided 16,243 permanent jobs to the land losers in Odisha as per the R&R Policy of the state, the miner added..

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