TALCHER : The Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has urged the Union Ministry of Coal to allot coal blocks immediately in order to meet its production target in the next fiscal.
A top MCL official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the company has specifically requested for reallocation of Utkal-A and West of Gopal Prasad block at Talcher.
Earlier, Utkal-A and Talabira 2 and 3 coal blocks at Jharsuguda district were allocated to MCL. According to sources, the company had already made some ground works on these two blocks and a few land losers have got jobs in MCL Hingula project. Following court orders, these two blocks were deallocated in 2013. Now, Talabira block has been allotted to Neyveli Lignite Corporation while Utkal-A is yet to be allocated, sources added.
As the coal production target for MCL has been fixed at a whopping 187 million tonnes in 2017-18, it urgently requires Utkal-A and West Gopal Prasad blocks to meet its target. The matter was raised during the visit of Union Coal Secretary Sushil Kumar to Talcher recently.
This apart, the company has also demanded speedy forest clearance for some projects. The officials said the forest clearance of 16 MT annual capacity Ananta Coal project at Talcher is pending with the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment for the last two years.
Meanwhile, the company had scaled down its target from 167 MT to 145 MT for the current year.