MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, July 14: Hazaribagh district, which was invited as one of the eight districts in the country to the national mining conclave held in New Delhi recently, plans to more than triple its annual royalty from coal mining to about Rs 300 crore in next three years.
“Currently, Hazaribagh district earns royalty of Rs 80 crore per year from coal mining. In the next two to three years, I believe we can increase it to Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore per annum,” Hazaribag Deputy Commissioner Nancy Sahay told lagatar24.com.
Hazaribagh is one of the major coal producing districts of Jharkhand. The state has 29 per cent of India’s coal reserves. The current daily coal production of Hazaribag stands at about 60 to 70 metric tonnes from the two functioning coal blocks in the district.
“There are seven coal blocks in the district, of which two are functioning and the rest have been identified and allocated. We have NTPC and CCL mining coal in Hazaribag, and soon Adani will also start its operations in its coal block,” said Sahay.
Hazaribagh and Dhanbad districts were among the eight districts from across India that were invited to the 6th National Conclave of Mines and Minerals in New Delhi on July 12, which was attended by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.
“It is a matter of pride for Jharkhand that of the eight districts, two are from our state. It shows that we are a potential state in terms of mining, reserves and building the social capital needed to mitigate the adverse impact of mining in affected regions,” she said.
Both Hazaribagh and Dhanbad districts had put up stalls at the national mining conclave showcasing utilisation of the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) in areas of health and education, and establishment of other social capital in the last three to five years.
“We showcased our work in upgrading schools and health centres, Anganwadi centres, and other initiatives like fish culture. We also had a 2-minute video clip showing success stories. And, as Hazaribag has huge coal reserves, we presented our future plans about upcoming utilisation of the DMFT fund, which is basically royalty money. We now plan to move beyond building the civil infrastructure to softer areas like investing in doctors, teachers and livelihood activities,” Sahay said.
The Hazaibagh DC further informed that Jharkhand state was allocated four coal blocks, two each in East Singhbhum and Dhanbad, at the mining conclave last Tuesday. It was received by Jharkhand Mining Secretary Aboobacker Siddique.
