MCL's Talcher Coalfields Suffers 13 MT Production Loss

Intermittent disruptions at Talcher Coalfields Ltd, the flagship operations of Coal India Ltd (CIL) subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has already caused production loss of 13 million tonnes in this fiscal year.

By the end of September in FY20, MCL had to contend with an output de-growth of eight per cent compared to the same period of last fiscal.

MCL authorities have attributed the loss in coal production to sporadic strikes by workers backed by local politicians active in the coal mines area.

On October 9, the affected villagers forcibly shutdown all the three mines under Jagannath area in MCL's command area. This obstruction impeded supply of 1.1 lakh tonnes of coal to the power plants. Besides the generating stations of NTPC and others located within the state, MCL also supplies coal beyond, mostly to the Southern states.

It may be recalled that a stir stretching to over two weeks in July2019 had precipitated an acute coal crunch in July this year. The coal shortfall had forced NTPC to shut down four of its 500 Mw units at its 3000 Mw super thermal power station at Kaniha. The festering coal crisis had reached the peak of its severity as a power surplus Odisha grappled with an unusual 2060 Mw shortage, leaning on costly power purchase from the energy exchanges to meet the burgeoning demand. The strike was triggered by a massive landslide at MCL's Bharatpur open cast coal mine project emanating from a strata failure.

One of the most prolific coal mining zones in the country, the Talcher coalfields produces 210,000 tonnes each day. It also serves as an important coal sourcing hub for power generators within Odisha and beyond.

Of late, the temporary closure of three of MCL's open pit coal mining projects- Jagannath, Bhubaneswari and Ananta has paralysed the production and despatches of 1.1 lakh tonnes of coal. As per MCL officials, the agitating villagers are demanding employment benefit beyond regulation.

The strike notice has been submitted by 135 irate villagers of Ekdal. The coal company claimed that it has approved a compensation of Rs 34 crore of which Rs 27 crore has been disbursed to the beneficiaries. MCL's offers for negotiations on the board have been spurned by them. The cessation of work at the three coal mines is causing an estimated loss of Rs 13 crore per day.

Besides sporadic strikes, a prolonged monsoon has slowed the production tempo for MCL. The recurring strikes and production outages are a huge setback to MCL which eyes 300 million tonnes of coal output by 2025-26. Of this envisaged production figure, the now besieged Talcher Coalfields alone is set to contribute 200 million tonnes.

MCL is the second largest coal producing subsidiary of CIL after South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL). In FY19, MCL produced 144 million tonnes. In the current fiscal, it has set targets of 160 million tonnes of coal production. Meeting this target will depend primarily on how MCL surmounts the deepening discontent of locals on jobs and rehabilitation.