Coal Projects to boost green cover mission in India

Jayant Opencast Coal Project in Singrauli District of Madhya Pradesh, one of the largest projects of Coal India Limited under the Ministry of Coal is working towards a mission of land restoration and enhancing green cover each passing day along with coal mining activity. The Project is one of many greenfield projects that aim at simultaneous backfilling of land after opencast coal mining operations and dense plantation to maintain environmental balance.

The Jayant Opencast Coal Project has helped in increasing carbon offset and lowering down the effect of pollution substantially. The Jayant Project is under Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), a subsidiary of CIL.

Jayant Opencast Coal Project: Key points during review

In a detailed review of environmental and forest clearance of Jayant Project by Secretary, Coal Ministry in New Delhi, the NCL showcased the satellite data that revealed more Green cover than the pre-mining forest cover. This is a significant achievement by any mega Coal project operating in a large leasehold area in India.

The pre-mining forest cover was approximately 1,180 hectares and now it has increased to 1,419 hectares of Green cover as per the Land Reclamation Report based on satellite data for the year 2020. This is approximately 45 per cent of the total leasehold area of the Jayant Project.

The target is to cover more than 2,600 hectares area under Green cover after the closing of the mine which will equal to more than double of the pre-mining stage.

Jayant Opencast Coal Project and Green Cover Mission

To achieve targets under the Green Cover Mission, the massive plantation is carried out every year around the Jayant project area that includes reclaiming areas and overburden (OB) dump areas with the help of Madhya Pradesh Rajya Van Vikas Nigam Limited (MPRVVNL).

The plantation includes saplings of Jungle Jalebi, Jamun, Sirus, Seesam,  Subabul, Mahua, Amla, bel, Karanj, Kachnar, Amaltas, Neem, Bougainvillea, Bamboo, Gulmohar, Cassia, Khamer, etc.

About Jayant Opencast Coal Project

The Jayant Coal Project is one of the largest projects of Coal India Limited under the Ministry of Coal is working towards a mission of land restoration and enhancing green cover. The Jayant Project is under Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), a subsidiary of CIL.

The Jayant project is built in an area of 3,200 hectares with an annual coal production capacity of 25 million tonnes. The project began mining operations in 1975-76 and coal production began in 1977-78 by deploying Heavy Earth Moving Machines (HEMM) such as Dumpers, Shovel, Dragline, etc.

Coal produced through the Jayant project is directed to the Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station of NTPC in Shaktinagar, Uttar Pradesh which has a capacity of 2,000 MW. Dedicated Merry-Go-Round (MGR) systems are used to transport the coal produced to the power plant.