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`120 A De v e l op m e n t a n d E n v i ron m e n t Mag a z i n e
Geography and You.com
G’nY SINCE 2001 Vol. 15, Issue 89, 2015
Coal dependency
Allowing private
merchant miners could
strengthen the sector
Coal seam fires
A seam on fire may
continue to burn for
thousands of years
COAL DRIVEN An understanding of where, how and why coal
is so important for India
EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY
protect ▀ preserve ▀ prosper
● SwITcH off LIGHTS, fanS and acs wHen noT In uSe ● Reduce, ReuSe and RecycLe waSTe ● uSe LeSS and
waSTe LeSS waTeR ● caRRy a juTe oR coTTon baG InSTead of a PLaSTIc one ● ReuSe waSTe PaPeR wHeReveR
© IPPL 2015, ILLuSTRaTIon: PReRona majumdeR
PoSSIbLe ● waLk oR cycLe SHoRT dISTanceS ● PLanT SaPLInGS ● eaT LocaLLy GRown fRuITS and veGeTabLeS.
LIGHTS ReSeaRcH foundaTIon
a 216-217, SomdaTT cHambeRS-1, bHIkajI cama PLace, new deLHI - 110066.
PHone: 011-41554136, 41551848, fax : 011-41775126
wRITe To uS aT LIGHTS2003@GmaIL.com oR vISIT ouR webSITe: www.LIGHTS.oRG.In
ReLeaSed In PubLIc InTeReST on THe occaSIon of eaRTH day ceLebRaTed on aPRIL, 22
GeoGraphy and you
Vol. 15 Issue 89 March - aprIl 2015
c oa l dr i v e n
6 Discovering Coal
Sulagna Chattopadhyay
16 The Coalgate Concern
Staff RepoRteR
20 Coal Dependency in India’s Energy Needs
abhijit SaRkaR
28 Coal Auction in India
Rittwik ChatteRjee and SRobonti Chattopadhyay
32 Coal-based Economy in India: Post 2030
nitya nanda, and SaSwata ChaudhuRy
36 Can Coal Ever be Eco-friendly?
Staff RepoRteR
42 Coal Seam Fires
Rina MukheRji
S a n i tat ion p e r Sp e c t i v e S
48 Decentralised Sanitation
Rina MukheRji
52 Subsidies can Improve Sanitation, Shows Study
Staff RepoRteR
di S aSt e r M a naG e M e n t
56 Urban Flooding in India
C RaMaChandRaiah
i n dia ou t d o or S
60 Singalila
ShReya SikdeR and SuMit ChakRaboRty
r e p ort Watc h
47 Stranded Assets and Subcritical Coal:
The Risk to Companies and Investors,
March 2015.
50 South Asia Report: Drinking water and
sanitation, 2014.
Coal powered
in Brief brick kilns dot
2 Editor’s note 4 Letters 13 The great Indian Bagaha, Bihar
coal 14 News update 19 Term power in multitudes
27 Coal production target 41 Snippets on coal resulting in heavy
46 Term power rating air pollution.
Expert Panel
Prithvish Nag Saraswati Raju B Meenakumari
Vice Chancellor, Professor, CSRD, Deputy Director General,
MG Kashi Vidyapeeth, Jawaharlal Nehru Fisheries, Indian Council of
Varanasi. University, New Delhi. Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
Ajit Tyagi Sachidanand Sinha Rasik Ravindra
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Professor, CSRD, Panikkar Professor at ESSO,
Former DG, Jawaharlal Nehru Ministry of Earth Sciences,
IMD, New Delhi. University, New Delhi. Former Director, NCAOR.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 1
2
March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and you
PhOTO: Raniganj, WesT Bengal; aMaR KuMaR nayaK
[Editor’s note]
Dear Readers,
I
ndia’s economy is driven by coal. Mining, tread the developmental path abandoned
especially the opencast type practiced in by many, and are destined to depend on
India, requires large tracts of land to be coal for our energy needs. Although India
stripped apart. Apart from this the number has an ambitious renewable agenda,
of environmental challenges associated the sector is poorly organised. The
with coal power is huge—soil erosion, dust, capacity addition notwithstanding, actual
noise and water pollution, and impacts on augmentation of energy needs in terms
public health and local biodiversity. However, of electricity produced, is still nominal.
we are nowhere near giving up coal in the Coal powered development, much in the
future. In order to sleep with the enemy, same way as petroleum is a multi-crore
we need to take urgent steps to modernise business. Stakeholders are likely to lobby
mining and power operations. Going by for continued access to polluting power. It
several news and not-for-profit organisations’ is only unfettered political and civil society’s
reports, life around mining areas or thermal will that can turn this around and usher in an
power plants is bleak. The water and air emission-free future.
quality in these regions are deteriorating This issue has dedicatedly covered every
abysmally. Moreover, technologies to clean aspect of coal. A sub-section deals with
up the act is expensive. Thus modernising sanitation, global reports and urban flooding,
operations or installing new ‘clean’ measures a challenging new phenomenon that calls for
is a tall order. better planning.
Countries all over the world are moving Happy Reading.
away from coal to either petroleum or
renewables. We, however, continue to
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 3
G’nY ran a debate about India’s education scenario between April 12 and 13, 2015 on ‘Geography
and You-Facebook’. Readers were asked to respond to the need and quality of education in India
in the backdrop of a parallel education system, especially coaching that operates bereft of a
GeoGraphy and you
degree. Despite the fact that coaching institutes may have a good method of teaching and often
editOr can impart more education in a short span of time than many other ‘reputed’ institutes, yet the
Sulagna Chattopadhyay fact that these places do not have any authenticity and at the same time charge heavily, is what
leGal advisOr the debate is about. The respondents were asked whether this parallel system should continue, or
KriShnendu datta
whether governmental aided educational institutes should work harder to fill the gap.
cOver phOtOGraph
raniganJ Coal Field For more details log on to our website www.geographyandyou.com
WorKer By praSad
research credit
lightS (learning in Year after Year, the Indian education and ideals to every individual.
geography, humanitieS,
teChnology and SCienCe) system tries to aim at quantity instead —aShfaq ahmad mir
a not-For-proFit of quality; perhaps because quality
reSearCh Foundation
of education is difficult to measure as the GOvernment needs to put vocational
phOtO team
praSad, Vinod m. compared to quantity. This results in the courses in place. It should remain facilitating
mass production of graduates armed such education with proper funding,
iris publicatiOn
pvt. ltd. with degrees, yet lacking basic skills for infrastructure and policy making. All
reGistered Office the job market. This is where the parallel vocational and specialised higher education
111/9 K g, aruna aSaF ali education system steps in. They try to and research should be handed over to
marg, neW delhi -110070
bridge the knowledge gaps of a student by industry, so that students are imparted the
business develOpment
Office charging obnoxiously high fees and offering right skills needed for jobs in the commercial
a 216-217, quick fix solutions. This parallel education sector. It can confine itself with general
Somdatt ChamBerS-1,
BiKaJi Cama plaCe, system is not a disease but the symptom education in science, commerce, arts,
neW delhi -110066 of a disease. The main problem is our sick culture, and mass schooling.
phone: 011-41551436
education system. Students enter schools —n C meena
cOrrespOndence/ and colleges not to learn but to get degrees.
editOrial Office
1584, B-1, This needs to be reformed by allocating there is a pOlicY paralYsis in implementing and
VaSant KunJ, more funds for the education sector and imparting education. Significant amounts
neW delhi-110070
phone: improving it in terms of quality with better are spent on fetching good grades and not
011-26122789 teacher- student ratios, infrastructure, skill on quality education. Morals and ethics
For neW SuBSCriptionS, training, and the like. We need to act fast are compromised and never paid heed to,
reneWalS, enquirieS
pleaSe ContaCt as we are on the cusp of demographic without realising their significance for a
CirCulation manager dividend. The youth of this great nation is civilized nation. At the primary and secondary
e-mail: editor@
geographyandyou.com waiting for an education revolution. level, education is merely a lucrative
pleaSe ViSit our Site at —Sam Joe profit-making business. Students need to
www.geographyandyou.com be trained in conceptual understanding
For Further inFormation.
Our educatiOnal sYstem needs to be geared to gain command over their subjects. For
©iris publicatiOn pvt. ltd. toward skills. There is no match between employment, job-oriented training institutes
all rightS reSerVed
throughout the World. skills and jobs offered. Graduates in or industry–oriented institutes for skill
reproduCtion in any
geography, such as me, are unfortunately, development at the college level run by the
manner, part or Whole,
iS prohiBited. printed, offered only teachers’ posts by the Kerala state are the need of the hour.
puBliShed and oWned By
Sulagna Chattopadhyay.
Public Service commission in our State. Is —Prabhakar PraSad
there no other opening?
printed at
india graphiC SyStemS —aSwin UnnikriShnan the indian educatiOn sYstem is no system at all,
pVt. ltd. F-23, oKhla if we look at the present scenario. Passing
induStrial area, phaSe-i,
neW delhi - 110020. indOctrinatiOn is what goes by the name of has become far easier and the quality
published at education today. A student is stuffed with has enormously declined. Maharashtra
iriS puBliCation pVt. facts and expected to be ready for a job. government, for instance, started the policy
ltd. geography and
you doeS not taKe any There is no development of personality or of encouraging non-grant private colleges.
reSponSiBility For modification of behaviour for the better, There were many more colleges to get
returning unSoliCited
puBliCation material. with values that can nourish an individual. admitted to, and admission became easier.
all diSputeS are SuBJeCted to
Producing good quality economists can The student who earlier needed at least 60
the exCluSiVe JuriSdiCtion oF certainly lift our declining economy, per cent in the science aggregate for getting
Competent CourtS and ForumS
in delhi/neW delhi only.
but only if it is propped up on quality admitted to an engineering or medical could
education that provides the right values now make do with just 35-45 per cent. The
4 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and you
education system was eased to make it the parallel sYstem is worsening Indian
universal, but we have ended up dropping education and affecting its net output. It
the quality. Right now, we need responsible is only adding to the woes of parents and
institutes and a responsible government. their wards. It is high time we did away
—SwaPnil wankawar with the parallel system, and put in efforts diGital editiOns
to strengthen the existing government-run
g’ny iS aVailaBle
Yes, there shOuld be a change in the education educational system with better finances on digital
system. Education should breed confidence, and planning. platFormS too
From January
virtue and values. Education should never —ShaileSh kUmar 2015 onWardS.
mean rote learning of facts. SpeCial liFetime
diSCountS.
—raJeSwari rao vOcatiOnal cOurses are what we need to make
our students self-reliant and job-worthy, if
hOlistic educatiOn is the need of the hour. the country is to grow and develop.
Concepts should be strengthened to build —ogUndiPe olaolUwa adebayo
the right foundation on which knowledge is
acquired. Students need to be guided with educatiOn sYstem shOuld change according to public Service advert ‘O Bhai
the right amount of love and empathy by today’s requirements, if the nation Sahab’. Watch film on g’ny
website and youtube.
teachers to get ahead in life. must grow. Share freely.
—divya raJU —rina Shah
A De v e l op m e n t A n D e n v i ron m e n t m Ag A z i n e
January- canals for irrigation etc. — you do not require
`75
GEoGraphY and You.com
February 2015, a new law for acquiring such land. As far as
G’nY SINCE 2001 Vol. 15, ISSuE 88, 2015
Let me first the construction of hostel for tribal students
congratulate the is concerned, it can’t be constructed in fields.
entire team of G’nY State governments allot hundreds of acres
for bringing out of land to universities, most part of which
such an important remain unutilised. The state governments
Livelihood
and
and topical issue
pertaining to the
Land Smart City
Experimenting on
cities in India to make
it efficient and service
oriented
can easily earmark 10 per cent of this land
for making hostels for tribal students. Further
Perspectives on land
acquisition and its impacts
livelihood of majority statistics show that large tracts of land already
of India’s population. The Land Acquisition acquired and allotted are lying unutilised. The
Act 2013 passed during the UPA regime government should take all these facts in to
duly supported by the BJP was perfectly all account and not insist on changing the
right. The BJP leaders have not been able laws unnecessarily.
to defend their change of stand on the Bill so —raJendra PraSad, Patna
quickly. The promulgation of Ordinance twice
has placed the government on a slippery i am a reGular reader of G’nY and through your
wicket. The reaction of the government magazine I want to express my views on the
through its senior ministers does not hold Land Acquisition Bill and government’s stand
water. For example, Ravi Shanker Prasad on it. I can see an eerie similarity with the
questioning the lack of legal understanding Lokpal movement and the Opposition’s stand
of Rahul Gandhi, said on television that against the Land Acquisition Ordinance. The
government requires land for making canals movement against the Congress gave birth
for improving irrigation and land for making to the Aam Aadmi Party. The fall out of the
hostels for tribal students. It is ridiculous re-promulgation of the Ordinance has already
to hear that from a senior minister of the made many parties come together and this
government. First of all, there was never a will have a significant impact on the Bihar
bar on acquiring land for public purposes viz. elections, which is not far away.
laying railway lines, making roads, making —ShamS iqbal, Gwaliar
write editorial office: geography and you, 1584, B-1, Vasant Kunj, new delhi-110070. letters may be edited for clarity and length. include
name, address and telephone. phOne 011-26122789, 26892275, faX 011-41775126, email editor@geographyandyou.com
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range from 1000 to 1500 words. please also mention if you can contribute relevant high resolution photographs. The Editorial Advisor.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 5
[Coal Driven]
By Sulagna Chattopadhyay
Discovering
Coal
6 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and you
The Gondwana bituminous coal
in India is primarily found in the
river valleys of Damodar, Son,
Godavari and Wardha.
PHOTO COURTESY: JHaRia,JHaRkHand; SamRaT35
The plant inhabitants of prehistoric swamps serve
as a source of coal. Peat, lignite, bituminous and
anthracite are the major varieties of coal found.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 7
U
nassuming it may be, the black transformation of coal from plant remains, tem-
lumps of coal at your barbecue perate to tropical climate and moderate to heavy
party, but its strength is legendary. rainfall was required. Transformation of coal
Coal has been one of the most began with biochemical erosion and ended with
widely used sources of energy chemical conversion in presence of high tem-
either for domestic use, or a fuel for power gen- perature and pressure exerted by the overlying
erating plants or for that matter in railways and sediments. In fact almost all the delicate parts of
steamships. Before the humans knew that use of a plant are preserved and ultimately transformed
coal, wood and charcoal were used as fuels. The into coal. Over time, layer upon layer was laid
Graeco-Romans were the first people in history to down, giving rise to the sedimentary process.
use coal as a domestic fuel. Followed by intense heat, and compression, earth
Gradually, its use spread to other countries in movements and contortions, the vegetation was
Europe where coal was used to keep homes warm compacted and the carbon in it turned to coal.
in the cold weather. However, it was from the late
18th century onwards that coal began to be used Coal Forming Forest Plants
in the steam engines and became the cornerstone Leaves, stems, spores, tree trunks, branches, plant
of the industrial revolution in Britain. Thus roots, resins, charred wood from swamp fires,
began the commercial mining of coal in different other organic and mineral (inorganic) matter
countries. Today, apart from being an important were deposited within the ancient swamp basin.
source of energy, coal is used in the production Accumulation of mud, silt and other sedimentary
of materials like tar, pitch (this is a solid volatile rock forming substances with these materials,
substance obtained from the distillation of coal in constitute a coal bed. Coal, therefore occurs in a
the total absence of air, not to be confused with series of layers called ‘seam’ which are separated by
coking coal), ammonia, fertiliser, drugs and also layers of other rocks. A stratified scale can establish
in the production of dyes. the age of coal deposits and their position in allied
beds. Such specific information can establish the
Forests of Carbon suitability of coal for energy production, chemical
Large, heavy creatures roamed the earth mil- separation and manufacture of steel.
lions of years ago. Dinosaurs were a reality in the The plant inhabitants of Palaeozoic-Mesozoic
carboniferous age. Move your mental eye away (and to some extent Cenozoic) swamps serve as
from the dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park, a source of coal. An enormous number of fossil
and focus on the lush trees and thick vegetation evidences recovered so far prove the presence of
that provided the backdrop of heightened action. world’s first great forests in the permo-carbonif-
That lush vegetation is coal today. In the geologi- erous period. This forest association, comprising
cal time scale Jurassic and Triassic are part of the a variety of plant groups such as lycopsids, horse-
carboniferous age. tails, ferns, pteridosperms, coniferophytes, etc.,
Although scientists have unanimously admit- had faced mass extinction at the end of Permian
ted that coal is a product of plant origin, its region (about 250 million years ago). The complete burial
of production is open to debate. Some argue that and transformation of these plants resulted in the
coal originated in a sea full of algae or in lakes. Carboniferous coal (estimated age 280-360 mil-
Others argue that the vast quantities of wood fell lion years), which today constitutes the majority
into water bodies and produced coal in situ. A few of the world’s coal deposits.
think that great forests or woods were caught in a Besides coal of Permo-Carboniferous origin,
huge drift, pushed by a great flow of water, eventu- formation also took place in three other geologic
ally producing coal. periods. Thus we have Triassic coal (estimated
It has been estimated that a 30 cm thick layer age 205-245 million years), Cretaceous coal (esti-
of bituminous coal required the deposition of mated age 70-140 million years) and Tertiary coal
plant remains for 125-150 million years while an (estimated age 2-70 million years). Plant groups
anthracite layer of the same thickness required like ferns, cycadophytes, ginkgos, coniferophytes
nearly 175-200 million years of deposition. For and few primitive angiospermous members
8 March - April 2015 Geography and YouCarbon gives coal its Colour anD
also Determines its heating
CapaCity. But, hydrogen, nitrogen,
and substances like sand, mud and
gravel dilute coal’s darkness.
Fig. 1: Different Stages of Coal Formation
Peat
The first stage in the
formation of coal, it
contains a high amount
of moisture but very
low carbon content.
Peat is a fibrous, pale
to dark brown coloured,
somewhat porous
and a light-weight
Stage 1 intermediate. it looks
like charcoal and is also
known as bog coal.
Bituminous
Lignite Stage 3
also called brown This is the most widely used
coal, it is usually soft coal type in the world. By
and crumbly. lignite the increasing pressure
is formed from peat and temperature of the
Stage 2 after the evaporation overlying sediment, lignite
of aqueous parts and transforms into bituminous.
other gases. Hard bituminous coal is dark,
powdery in texture and with
characteristic stratification.
shared the status of Mesozoic (both for Triassic not only gives it its colour but also determines its
and Cretaceous) coal formers. Tertiary coal, the heating capacity, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sub-
illUSTRaTiOn: PREROna maJUmdER
youngest among the world’s coal deposits, evolved stances like sand, mud, gravel dilute and deplete
from perfect preservation of certain deciduous an- its darkness. Diluters of coal’s dark beauty such as
giospermous genera, ginkgos and some conifers. sand gravel, mud and moisture, lower the heating
capacity too and render certain deposits useless.
coal is not always Black A classification based on heating capacity and
Although chemically coal contains carbon, which impurities is given below:
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 9Fig. 2: Shaft Mining
Smoke escaping to
surface due to fire
Pumping station
Surface
Water table
305 m
Worker trolly
Coal
seam
fire
Lift
Water
Gas bed pumping
pipe
Gas
Accumulated
water
1500 m
illUSTRaTiOn: PREROna maJUmdER
Vertical shafts are sunk to reach the coal bed, and a network of galleries is dug underground. lifts or box like
cages are used to access the mine. Often explosives are set in the coal face for loosening coal into lumps.
Shaft mining is the most expensive of the mining methods because of the overhead costs of ventilation,
lighting, water supply and underground haulage. The mining company also must take precautions against such
possibilities as gas poisoning, explosion, floods and the collapse of tunnel roofs.
10 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youOpencast mining or stripping
is the easiest way to mine. It
hardly disturbs the underlying
deposits makes bituminous coal the most popular
industrial choice. It is this coal when heated in a
strata, although large traCts
special oven produces coke, which is an essential
raw material for the iron and steel industry.
of agriCultural lanD may
Another type, i.e., sub bituminous is a coal whose
properties range from those of lignite to those
be devastated. of bituminous and are used primarily as fuel for
steam-electric power generation. It may look dull,
dark brown to black, soft and crumbly.
Anthracite: It is the hardest and the best type of
Peat: It is the first stage in the formation of coal coal with a shiny black appearance. With a carbon
and contains high amount of moisture but very content above 90-95 per cent and little impurities
low carbon. In a normal fossilization process, coal anthracite’s heating capacity is higher, burns
formation begins when vegetation is buried and longer and leaves little residue and smoke. Yet
partly decomposed to form peat. Peat is a fibrous, anthracite, though the best, is not popular. Firstly,
pale to dark brown, somewhat porous and a light- because the deposits are scarce, and secondly,
weight intermediate. It looks like charcoal and is because it’s the hardest coal mining is not only
also known as bog coal. Because of the low carbon difficult but expensive too. Thirdly, anthracite
content (i.e. 25 to 30 per cent), peat has a low heat has a high ignition temperature, and takes a long
value, and therefore it is not generally used as an time to kindle. Thus, anthracite constitutes only
industrial fuel. Its calorific value is only 75 therms about 5 per cent of the total coal production of the
per tonne as compared to bituminous, which is world and, is not commonly used in industry and
approximately 275 therms. transport. However, it may be used for domestic
Lignite: Also called brown coal, as it is usually heating, bakeries and for boilers.
brownish in colour and crumbly in texture. Lig-
nite or soft brown coal is formed from peat after extracting coal
the evaporation of aqueous parts and other gases. Man has discovered many ways to access this use-
Lignite is mainly used for preparation of petrol ful resource. Some of the methods are listed below:
and natural gases and warming-pans. Lignite has Stripping or opencast mining: Opencast min-
a high moisture content and emits a lot of vapour ing or stripping is well suited for areas where coal
and smoke when burned. It is soft in disposition, seam lies at or near the surface not more than 60 m
has little heat value (because its carbon content is deep. The seam should be more or less horizontal
only 35 to 40 per cent and the calorific value is even with the prerequisite for a thin and soft overlying
less than 24 megajoules/kg) and easily cracks and strata, very much like a crumbly black current pie.
crumbles when exposed to air. It is generally used This is the easiest way to mine, as it hardly dis-
only as a supplement to bituminous or anthracite. turbs the underlying strata, although large tracts
Bituminous: It is the most widely used coal of agricultural land may be devastated. Modern
type in the world. By the increasing pressure and conservation techniques can now restore former
temperature of the overlying sediment, lignite areas of opencast mining, examples of which may
transforms into better quality bituminous. Com- be seen in the Appalachians and Australia.
paratively hard bituminous coal is powdery in Hill slope boring: Giant sized augers (boring in-
texture and with characteristic stratification. It struments) are used to dig out coal on hill slopes.
generates less amount of smoke during burning These augers can reach as far as 105 m below the
and is mainly used in industries, thermal power ground.
plants, households, steam locomotives and in Underground mining: Also known as drift or
gas production. Its carbon content is very high, adit mining where a tunnel is cut into the coal
about 80 per cent, giving it a black appearance bearing stratum. This type of mining operation is
and a hard texture. Its high carbon content also undertaken in hilly areas, where there is a slightly
renders a high heat value of 26.7 megajoules/kg. inclined or horizontal coal seam with a thick
In addition, low emission of smoke and minimal overburden.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 11Opencast mines continue to flourish
in India. In the recent times, we are
poised for a new coal driven
revolution, even as nations across the
world are moving away from it.
Slope mining: This is practiced in areas with ground haulage. The safety in the mines has to be
steeply tilted coal seams or where coal is below a ensured by providing proper ventilation so that
thick overburden. An inclined tunnel known as fire accidents don’t occur. This also helps reducing
slope is constructed and a conveyor belt of a cable health hazards for miners. Miners also need to be
PHOTO: HaUling COal TO TRUCkS in RaniganJ, amaR kUmaR naYak
car is used for bringing out coal through the tunnel. aided with better geological information pertain-
Shaft mining: This method of mining is used ing to the seasonal movement of water tables in
for reaching deep-seated seams (305 m to 1500 order to equip them against the danger posed by
m below the surface). Vertical shafts are sunk to the crushing inflow of water. Also efficient pump-
reach the coal bed, and a network of galleries is ing stations to pump the water out of the mines
dug underground. Lifts or box like cages are used need to be placed. The mining company must
to access the mine. Often explosives are set in the take precautions against such possibilities as gas
coal face for loosening coal into lumps. poisoning, explosion, floods and the collapse of
Shaft mining is the most expensive of the tunnel roofs.
mining methods because of the overhead costs
of ventilation, lighting, water supply and under- Email: editor@geographyandyou.com
12 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and you[In brief]
Opencast extraction
The great Indian coal India possesses
a significant place in the annual upraising of coal in the world. India is rich in bituminous,
of good quality
Gondwana coal in
Jharia, Jharkhand.
although traces of peat may be found in the Nilgiris and Jhelum valley of Jammu and
Kashmir. The coal in India is categorised as Gondwana and Tertiary. Gondwana coal is
that which is formed during the carboniferous age, and is found primarily in the river valleys
of Damodar, Son, Godavari and Wardha. Anthracite is present in the Gondwana rocks
of Eastern Himalayan foot hills and in the Eocene rocks of Jammu and Kashmir. Tertiary
PHOTO COURTESY: JHaRia,JHaRkHand; SamRaT35
deposits indicate coal formed more recently in the geological age. These deposits have
mainly resulted due to the earth movement that accompanied Himalayan orogeny. Lignite
is obtained from Assam, Kashmir, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. A trace amount of
lignite is also found in the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal. There are 15
coal producing states in our country among them eight major states are Madhya Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh.
Source: Geological Survey of India, Kolkata
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 13[In brief]
the Coal Files
Coal is important for the economic development of our nation. But, is it so
imperative that we ignore the bleak future the path foretells? The world has seen that
and been there, do we have to pay the price too?
Coal Mining VPt draws
Banned in Flak For Coal
india’s Mahan dust Pollution
Forest in aP: PuBliC
The Mahan forest in hearing on
Madhya Pradesh will now Port ProjeCts
be kept off limits for coal The people of Visakhap-
mining, due to a right to information (RTI) based intervention atnam Greater City, have made a fervent plea to the authorities
by Greenpeace (India), an international activist group working of the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) to stop handling dirty
on environmental issues. Mahan in Madhya Pradesh is one of cargoes such as coal and protect the health of the two million
the largest sal forests in Asia. Spread across 1,600 hectares, residents in the city and its vicinity. The plea was made at a public
it is home to over 50,000 indigenous people and endangered hearing on port projects held near the administrative office here.
wildlife species. In June 2014, the Intelligence Bureau had ac- VPT Chairman M T Krishna Babu tried to assure the irate public
cused Greenpeace (India) of acting against ‘national interest’ for that the Port would take all possible pollution control measures
opposing mining in the Mahan coal block. Protection of Mahan and that in the next few years, Rs 200 crore would be spent on
comes as a blow to Essar Energy, which hoped to mine the for- pollution control at the Port.
est to supply coal for its nearby power plant. The Mahan tribes The people in the old city are suffering from respiratory
are entitled to a referendum about the envisaged development problems and other maladies due to the pollution caused by
of the forest, which they say, have been bypassed. Many other the Port. Now, without taking any steps to control the present
coal blocks fall under dense forest areas, considered for mining, pollution, the Port is embarking on expansion of capacity. It
for instance, Marki Mangli II and Namchik-Namphuk. Mahan is was also pointed out that the environment impact assess-
indicative of how India will need to balance its economic growth ment (EIS) report was full of flaws and no attempt was made
while making key decisions about forests, conservation, and to study the pollution issue seriously and find solutions. In
sustainable development. India is under a lot of pressure globally response, Krishna Babu said the issues raised by the public
while tackling climate change, yet is drawn to the quick and cheap would be taken note of and every effort would be made to
gains from coal despite the high social and environmental cost. address them.
Source: RTCC News, March 25, 2015 Source: WebIndia123.com, April 10, 2015
14 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youCoal rush in two-thirds of Indians were burning biomass fuels for cooking
india Could and heating.
tiP BalanCe on Source: Daily Mercury, December 11, 2014
CliMate Change
Decades of strip min- Coal’s BlaCk
ing have left the town of wind: Pregnant
Dhanbad in the heart of woMen in Parts
India’s coal fields a fiery deposit of black slag, sulphurous air oF india adVised
and sickened residents. But rather than rethink their exploitation, to stay away
the government is digging deeper in a coal rush that could push In some Indian regions, a
the world into irreversible climate change and make India’s cit- married woman will return
ies even more unliveable, scientists say. India’s coal rush could to her mother’s house for the last trimester of pregnancy and the
push the world past the brink of irreversible climate change. birth of her child. But in Mettur, pregnant women are advised by
Indian cities are already the world’s most polluted and hottest, their doctors to stay away. ‘Black wind’ from a coal yard wafts
with spring temperatures in Delhi reaching 120oF. Traffic, which constantly across poor neighbourhoods. People complain of
will only increase with new mining activity, is already the world’s asthma, wheezing and frequent colds. India relies heavily on
most deadly. And half of Indians are farmers who rely on water energy from coal. Accounting for 71 per cent of electricity, coal
from melting Himalayan glaciers and fitful monsoons. will remain a key player over the next decade. The poor pay the
India’s coal is mostly of poor quality with a high ash content that highest cost of India’s dependence on coal. Already burdened
makes it twice as polluting as coal from the west. Nearly 90 per by chronic disease, poor nutrition and inadequate health care,
cent of India’s coal is from strip mines, which are environmentally they also are highly exposed to air and water pollution. In Jharia,
costly. Residents accuse the government of allowing pollution as 700,000 people are exposed to toxic smoke that seeps from
a way of pushing people off land needed for coal rush. the ground as fires from opencast coal mines burn. Mercury-
Source: The New York Times, November 17, 2014 laced ash from five mega power plants in the Singrauli district
in central India is polluting air, water and soil. These areas are
ConserVation now mobilising documentation of coal’s health impacts on their
grouP says Coal residents in an effort to gain environmental protections from
Pollution will local politicians and world leaders.
kill PeoPle in Source: Environmental Health News, November 20, 2014.
india
The Indian group trying to death By Coal
stop a Galilee Basin coal The Indian government’s
mine development claims burning its coal will increase deaths. plans of expanding its
But miner Adani disputes the claim and states coal will produce coal-based power produc-
less pollution than burning wood and dung, which is currently tion may result in hundreds
widespread in India. Indian group Conservation Action Trust of thousands of premature
(CAT), who have taken Adani to court to stop the Carmichael deaths by 2030 due to
mine, released a report claiming coal would increase ‘premature increase in emissions. A report by Mumbai based non-profit,
deaths’ to 229,500 by 2030. The report said the increase in coal Conservation Action Trust, and Urban Emissions, an independ-
power generation would “seriously harm the health of the Indian ent research group, estimates that in another 15 years between
rural poor”, the basis of CAT’s legal challenge. 186,500 and 229,500 people may die premature deaths annu-
But an Adani spokesman said CAT’s models were flawed, and ally due to this increase. The study envisages a trebling India’s
Indians were exposing themselves to far worse pollution. At the coal consumption from 660 million tonnes (MT) to 1800 MT a
heart of CAT’s claim lies a comparison to the rollout of thermal year. The study also outlines that enforcing the use of flue-gas
coal generation capacity in the emerging Asian economies such desulfurisation (FGD) to scrub out the highly toxic sulphur during
as China over the recent decades. or after the burning of coal could bring down premature deaths
Adani’s progressive plans to deliver power to those who lack by as much as 50 per cent annually. In monetary terms, utilising
it is underpinned by the rollout of supercritical technology that FGD technology could reduce health care related costs. But that
burns less fuel more efficiently, with substantially reduced emis- it will also save thousands of lives across the country is perhaps
sions, compared to legacy infrastructure utilised elsewhere. The a more urgent reason to consider its enforcement.
spokesman said that a US Energy Administration report showed Source: Quartz India, December 9, 2014
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 15[Coal Driven]
Indian Railways transporting
coal from the Jharia mines to iron
and steel industries.
16 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youBy Staff Reporter
The Coalgate Concern
coal blocks were allotted to private companies for captive
mining through a 1993 amendment to the coal mines
nationalisation act (1973). however, the caG found that the
blocks were not allotted in a transparent manner, neither had
the companies begun production.
I
ndia has one of the biggest coal reserves in
the world, ranking only after China and ReseRves in india
India’s coal reserves
the United States. As of April 1, 2014 India’s as on April 2014
reserves were estimated at a total of 301.56
billion tonnes by the Geological Survey of
India (GSI). Of this, ‘prime’ coking coal stood at
5.313 billion tonnes, medium and semi-coking Jharkhand 80.71 26.76
coals amounted to 28.76 billion tonnes, non-coking
Odisha 75.07 24.89
coals stood at 266 billion tonnes and tertiary coal at
1.49 billion tonnes. Chattishgarh 52.53 17.42
More than half of India’s commercial energy
requirements are met by coal. As per the Coal West Bengal 31.31 10.38
Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973, coal belongs
to the people of India, and the Government of Madhya Pradesh 25.67 8.51
Photo courtesy: Flikr@creativecommons-crisPin semmens
India owns all the coal blocks. Coal mining Andhra Pradesh 22.48 7.45
thus could be done either by a governmental
undertaking or any government company, that Maharastra 10.98 3.64
is, a company where the government has a 51 per
cent share. However, an amendment in the Act in Others 2.8 0.95
1993, allowed coal blocks to be allotted to private Figures in white: billion tonne.
companies for captive mining for power, steel and Figures in yellow: Percentage of total reserves.
Source: Geological Survey of India.
cement production.
blocks which had thus far been allocated for free, be
allocation of coal blocks auctioned for the highest price possible. The Comp-
In June 2004, the Coal Ministry proposed that coal troller and Auditor General’s (CAG),‘Performance
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 17Fig.1: Coal Enactments Down the Ages
Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act 1973
(CMNA) allowed for the nationalisa-
tion of the coal mines, thus bringing
them under state control. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions),
Second Ordinance, 2014 was promul-
Amendment of CMNA to allow private companies
gated on 26.12.2014. The Ordinance
producing iron and steel to mine coal for captive
also amended the provisions of
use. Captive use means that the coal produced has
existing Acts thereby removing the
to be used for the purpose it was allotted.
restriction of end use.
1973 1976 1993 2014 2015
2003
CMNA was amended again to Coal auction commences.
Electricity Act passed and 29 blocks auctioned till
include power generation
private companies allowed to now and 23 more to be
companies to mine coal for
generate power. auctioned in May 2015.
captive use.
Audit of Allocation of Coal Blocks and Augmenta- by the previous government. In a feature published
tion of Coal Production’, Report No. 7 of 2012-13, on April 21, 2015, Business Standard claimed that
found that the government had failed to introduce according to their analysis, the auctions could
the auction route, though it could have done so as fetch a potential revenue of INR 6,284 crores to the
early as 2006, causing of approximately Rs 1.86 lakh coal bearing states, once all the auctioned blocks
crore loss to the public exchequer. begin production.
During the first round held between 14 and 22
The Scam February, the government successfully auctioned
The CAG further found that the allocation of coal- 19 blocks under the under Schedule II (already in
blocks to private players had been undertaken in a production) class. The auction, however concluded
non-transparent manner. It also found that most with 15 blocks as four blocks came under the
companies had not begun production at all, and scanner for receiving low bids. Successful bidders
were in no hurry to do so, thus adversely affecting included industry majors like Reliance Cement,
the availability of coal. GMR Chhattisgarh, Hindalco, Sunflag Iron and
The Audit revealed that as of 2011, only 28 out Steel, Jaiprakash Associates, Jaiprakash Power
of 86 coal blocks allotted had started production. Ventures, OCL Iron and Steel, Bharat Aluminium,
Similarly, production from operational mines Essar Power MP, Jindal Power and UltraTech Ce-
was only 34.64 million tonnes, when the targeted ment. Round two was held between 4 and 9 May
output was 73 million tonnes as per the CAG’s Per- which resulted in the auctioning of 14 blocks
formance Audit. Very obviously, the private players (schedule III).
had no incentive to begin production immediately, The government earned a whopping 4 lakh
as they had received the coal blocks for free. In addi- crores from the auction. Of the 33 blocks put up for
tion, the government had failed to enforce penalty auction, 29 have been successfully auctioned and
for non-production. another 38 allotted to state owned entities (Hindu
Business Line, April 26, 2015). Coal secretary, Anil
coal auctions Swarup announced in a statement to the Press
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel Trust of India on April 20, 2015 that the third
the 204 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and round of bidding for 23 mines, shall commence
2009, the new National Democratic Alliance Gov- from May 2015.
ernment stepped in and sanctioned the Coal Mines In the meantime, India’s coal import statistics
(Special Provisions) Bill, 2015. The Bill consents witnessed a massive 33.5 per cent increase in the
commercial mining and auction of these ready-to- last fiscal year. Official data enumerate that India
operate blocks. imported 168.4 million tonnes in 2013/14, while
The government also claimed that state govern- mjunction, pioneers in e-auction services, put the
ments stand to make humongous profit from the figure at 181.58 million. The rise is due to fall in the
coal blocks auction—much more than the excheq- international prices which experts colligate to lower
uer lost because of arbitrary distribution of blocks purchases by China.
18 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youTerm Power Answers on PAge 46 ❯❯
Understanding coal: India now ranks third amongst the coal
producing countries in the world, with nearly 60 per cent of the India’s total energy
requirements are met from coal.
1. Baghouses to coal for some altering purpose. water Heaters
a. A generic name for air pollution b. A kind of material used to control c. Substances that are released
equipment which uses a range of the output of Generators connected into the air from power generating
filter bags/fabric types to separate to the electricity network. plants among other sources.
particulate (dust, ash, powders, c. A non-renewable resource
etc.) from the exhausting air stream. obtained otherwise from natural 8. Flue Gas
b. Waste plant fibre left after the means of production. a. Finely divided particles of ash
juices have been removed from entrained in gases resulting from
sugar cane by crushing. 5. Combustion the combustion of fuel.
c. A casing containing thousands a. The process of slowly turning the b. Emissions from power plants
of long cloth bags used to remove Turbine-Generator shaft to prevent and their by products form
Flyash from Flue Gas. bowing while it is still hot after particulate matter, ozone smog
shutdown and air toxins.
2. Boiler b. The process of retrieving energy c. A combustible substance formed
a. A dispenser required to produce from the burning of fuels in the most by the partial decomposition of
electrical energy. efficient way possible. vegetable matter without access
b. A device found in power plants c. The process of designed to to air.
for generating steam for power, burn coal with little or fewer
processing or heating purposes, or emissions possible. 9. Flyash
hot water supply. a. The combustion exhaust gas
c. A machine which helps in helps 6. Electronic produced at power plants.
in avoiding emission of carbon Precipitator b. Finely divided particles of ash
dioxide in the air. a. A pollution control device that entrained in gases resulting from
removes particles from a flowing the combustion of fuel.
3. Clean Air Act gas (such as air) using the force of c. A major contributor of gastifi-
a. A federal law that defines EPA's an induced electrostatic charge. cation plants which target synthetic
responsibilities for protecting and b. A machine which emits gaseous oils and gases as end products.
improving the nation's air quality substance at standard conditions
and the stratospheric ozone layer. when fossil fuels are burned. 10. Mercury
b. Law regarding availability c. A device generating sufficient a. A metallic element that is toxic to
based on unit outages and electrical power to drive pumps and human beings whose emission into
load reductions. fans on only one unit in the power the environment has come under
c. A treaty which includes station until it comes online.. increasingly tight restrictions.
restrictions on amount of power b. Highly concentrated forms of
generation of non-renewable fuels. 7. Emission far-ancient sunlight trapped in
a. The process of back-flushing organic cells.
4. Coal additive with the help of compressed air. c. An analysis of coal based on
a. A type of substance, either liquid, b. Steam extracted from the removal of water and ash from the
solid or gas, that is manually added Turbine to provide heat to the Feed Coal sample.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 19[Coal Driven] We will continue to depend on coal power, despite constraints in increasing coal production. 20 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and you
By Abhijit Sarkar
Coal dependency in
India’s energy needs
Domestic coal production has been falling behind demand.
Allowing private merchant miners and removing the
‘electricity’ and ‘non-electricity’ differentiation could serve to
strengthen the sector.
PHOTO COURTESY: FlikR@CREATivECOmmOnS-RAmkUmAR
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 21W
ith a service sector-led accounts for almost 3/4th of electricity generated
economic growth, the energy from conventional sources in India. In fact, after
intensity of the Indian a two year fall in 2009-10 and 2010-11, the share
economy has been on the of coal in electricity generation increased by 4.5
decline at a pace faster than percentage points in the last four years. The left-
the rest of the world (figure 1). The decline, accord- over quarter is shared by petroleum (11.8 per cent),
ing to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme natural gas (10.2 per cent); and hydro and nuclear
Implementation, 2015, Energy Statistics has been power (4.5 per cent ). The continued dependence
1.3 per cent, as against -1 per cent the world over on coal is also reflected in the less than 2 per cent
(https://yearbook.enerdata.net/energy-intensity- annual growth in electricity generation from
GDP-by-region.html). petroleum and natural gas as against a 3.9 per cent
Despite this, the overall demand for energy is growth in thermal power generation over 2005-06
expected to continue rising in the near future due to 2013-14. Though hydro and nuclear power gen-
to several factors, which include: eration grew at a marginally higher pace of 4 per
◆ The target of a 8.5 to 9 per cent annual growth in cent over the period, it hardly had any impact con-
gross domestic product (GDP); sidering their low base. This in itself will ensure
◆ The aim to increase the contribution of the our continued dependence on coal for many years
manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of GDP by to come despite constraints in increasing coal
2025 from the current 15 per cent; production or raising efficiency in thermal power
◆ Increase in per capita usage of energy with great- generation or the initiatives taken to diversify and
er economic prosperity and lifestyle changes; increase power generation from nuclear and other
◆ Expansion in the energy distribution network to renewable sources.
cover larger populace. Policy makers are well aware of the pitfalls in
As of now, coal remains the single major source over dependence on thermal power, and have been
of energy despite a declining share, and accounts pursuing several alternatives. Renewable energy
for 41 per cent of all energy consumed in 2013-14. sources including solar and wind energy, small
In fact, coal and crude petroleum accounted for 80 hydro projects of up to 25 MW, biomass power,
per cent of energy consumed in 2013-14 (figure 2). urban and industrial waste based power, have seen
The dependence on coal is revealed to be even a 16 per cent per annum growth over the past 4
higher if we focus on the capacity for electricity years, expanding from around 18,500 MW in June
generation (table 1) and electricity production 2011 to 32,000 in January 2015, as per the statistics
(figure 3). Almost 2/3rd of installed electricity handed out by the Central Electricity Authority’s
generation capacity is coal based, and coal now various reports on installed generation capacity.
Fig. 1: Trends in Gdp, Energy Consumption, per Capita Energy Consumption and Energy Intensity
Energy Intensity (mega joules per Re GDP) Energy Consumption (in peta joules)
70,000 GDP (Rs billion) (2004-05 prices) Per Capita Energy Consumption (in mega joules) 0.48
0.47
0.47
60,000 57,418
54,821
0.47 52,475 0.46
0.46 49,185
50,000
0.45 45,161
41,587 0.45
0.45
40,000 0.44 0.44 0.44
38,966
35,644 0.43
30,000 32,531 0.43
23,903 24,071
21,223 21,892 22,383 0.42 0.42
20,000 17,514 18,457
16.421
15,146 19,522
18,148 18,459 18,622 19,641 0.41
14,636 15,390 15,994
10,000 13,695
0.40
- 0.39
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Source: Energy Statistics 2015, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
22 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youWind energy has emerged as the frontrunner
Coal now accounts for
among these, with installed capacity exceeding almost three fourth of
the electricity generated from
22,600 MW as on February 2015, and estimated
on-shore potential exceeding 1 lakh MW. Grid
conventional sources in India.
connected solar power also expanded from a
miniscule 8 MW in January 2010 to 3,400 MW
in February 2015, with targeted installation of
22,000 MW capacity by 2022 under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar Mission as per the Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy’s, Annual Report sources, but expansion of nuclear generation
2014 and Physical Progress Report 2015. capacity is unlikely in the face of considerable
However, despite commendable expansion in public opposition and investors dithering over
renewable sources, the fast expanding demand for disaster liability issues.
electricity will ensure continued dependence on The projected expansion of thermal power
coal, as reflected in the 2012 report of the Work- generation during the 12th plan period implies
ing Group on Power for Twelfth Plan, which shows an annual demand of 842 million tonne (MT)
an aggressive capacity expansion plan for the 12th of coal for electricity generation, rising from 306
(2012-17) and 13th plan periods (2017-22). In fact, MT in 2005-06 to 427 MT in 2013-14. Apart from
planned capacity addition during the 12th plan electricity, coal will also be in demand for the
works out to 95,485 MW. Despite the priority ac- steel, sponge iron and cement sectors. Keeping in
corded to grid interactive renewable energy, hydro mind that the combined demand from these coal
and nuclear generation under the Low Carbon dependent sectors has grown at more than 4 per
Growth Strategy, the planned capacity addition cent in the 2005-13 period, reaching around 600
from non-coal based sources will only be around MT by 2013-14, it is expected to cross 900 MT
1/3rd at 32,790 MW. by 2016-17.
One of the factors restricting the growth of non- Despite this overwhelming dependence on
coal based alternatives is the cost factor (table 2). coal, the 3.7 per cent growth in domestic coal
Even the minimum tariff for wind energy at Rs production has been trailing behind demand
3.7 per unit is higher than the maximum tariff due to policy and other bottlenecks such as non-
of Rs 3.2 per unit for pit head coal-based power operationalisation of captive mines, subsequent
stations. Similarly, tariff for solar power ranges cancellation of coal block allocation, and non-
from Rs 7.7 to 11.9 per unit. The estimated cost of receipt of environmental clearances. This has
nuclear energy is comparable to conventional resulted in a steady increase in net imports from
Fig. 2: Energy Consumption and Dependence on Coal
Share of Coal and Lignite Share of Petroleum
Coal and Lignite Crude Petroleum
9,909 9,939
10,000 48 %
46 % 46 % 9,325 9,316
9,500 45 % 45 % 9,207 9,178 46 %
9,137
9,000
43 % 8,547 44 %
8,476
8,500 42 %
42 %
7,926
8,000 8,248 42% 41 %
8,071 41 % 40 %
Peta Joules
7,459
7,500
7,009 39% 38 %
7,000 36 % 38 % 38% 38%
37 % 37 % 38%
36 %
6,500 6,732
36 % 6,536
6,000 34 %
6,136
5,500 32 %
5,448
5,000 30 %
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Source: Energy Statistics 2015, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Geography and You March - April 2015 23Table 1: All India Installed Capacity of power Stations as on January 31, 2015
Thermal Nuclear Hydro
Coal Gas Diesel Total Thermal
60
156,191 MW
per cent 9 per cent
22,971 MW
1 per cent
1,200 MW
70
180,362 MW
per cent 25,780 MW
per cent 16 per cent
40,867 MW
Figures in percentage indicate the category share in installed capacity under each category.
Figures in MW show the actual capacity per sector.
Source: All India Installed Generation Capacity Report, Central Electricity Authority.
24 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youOther Renewable Renewable Total Grand Total
12 per cent
31,692 MW
30 per cent
78,339 MW
100
258,701 MW
per cent
Almost two third of installed electricity generation capacity is coal based. In
fact, the share of coal in electricity generation increased by 4.5 percentage
points in the last four years. It is projected that India will have a continued
dependence on coal for many years to come. Thus, in a scenario where
renewables occupy a fraction of the installed capacity, bagasse or agricul-
tural waste based sustainable power systems, may still be a far cry.
GeoGraphy and you March - april 2015 25Fig. 3: Electricity Generation and dependence on Coal
14,000 13,302 13,415 13,409 13,400 74 %
12,829
13,000 73.5%
72.7% 73 %
12,000 11,098 72.6%
10,581 72 %
11,000 11,658 71.2%
10,025
Peta Joules
10,000 71.4% 9,398 71 %
9,207
69.9% 70.5% 9,730 9,846
9,000 70 %
9,137 70.1%
8,000 8,476
7,926 69.2% 69 %
7,000 7,459
7,009 68 %
6,000
5,000 67 %
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Total Share of Coal and Lignite Coal and Lignite
Source: Energy Statistics 2015, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Table 2: Minimum and maximum tariff for 37 MT during 2005-06 to 166 MT during 2013-
alternate power generation based on types 14. In 2015-16, power utilities alone will import
of generating station around 73 MT of coal.
Overall domestic availability, though, is expect-
ed to improve with the successful auctioning of coal
3.2 5.3 4 blocks. With companies now having to pay for coal
0.9 3.3 2.8
blocks, they will have to operationalise mines at the
Pit-head Non-pit-head Lignite earliest to recoup their investments. However, even
coal based coal based based though the auctioning system enhances transpar-
station station station ency in the coal block allocation process, a few more
steps are called for.
4 4.5 10.7 Firstly, the differentiation between coal blocks
2.7 4.2 8.4 into those for electricity generation and non-
electricity captive use allows for differential
Natural gas Natural gas LNG gas pricing, leaving scope for diversion of mined coal
based station based station based
(APM gas) (NAPM gas) station
into non-intended use. This also limits the number
of bidders per block.
Secondly, private participation is still limited to
13 5.8 6 only captive users from the iron and steel, power
7.7 0.9 3.7
and washeries sectors, with independent private
Liquid based
merchant miners not being allowed. As a result,
stations (Nap- Hydro based reliance on public sector behemoth Coal India
htha/HSD) station Wind energy continues despite its failures in raising production
levels. In fact, in 2013-14, it could only meet 86 per
cent of fuel supply agreement (FSA) commitment
7.7
NA
11.9
NA
3.4 to power utilities (other than the National Thermal
1
Power Corporation Limited), with production
Solar CSP expected to touch merely 615 MT by 2016-17 from
Solar PV (Concentrated Nuclear 482 MT in 2013-14.
(Photovoltaic) Solar Power) Energy Thus, to sustain India’s long term economic
The figures are in Rs per unit; and, represent maximum (top growth by securing the country’s energy needs,
figure) and minimum (bottom figure) total tariff in both fixed rapid expansion in coal production is needed, along
charge and energy charge. with complementary enhancement of efficiency of
Source: Response by Government of India to Unstarred
the thermal power supply chain.
Question No. 5072 in Lok Sabha on 13.08.2014
The author is Vice President, Projects, Indicus Analytics
Pvt. Ltd. (A Nielsen Company): abhijit.sarkar@indicus.net
26 March - april 2015 GeoGraphy and youYou can also read
