Reuters: “Twenty new coal mine projects by state-run Coal India, planned with annual capacity of 52 million tonnes, have been delayed by difficulties acquiring land and environmental clearances, the coal minister said on Thursday, underlining the uphill task he faces in reforming the sector.”
“The new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hastening environmental clearances – which slowed to a trickle under the previous administration – to help fire up power plants and fulfill Modi’s campaign promise to light up every home.
But land acquisition remains a major problem, as it is largely controlled by India’s states, many of which are ruled by parties other than Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal told parliament the projects, costing more than 200 million rupees ($3 million), “could not be started due to constraints of land acquisition and environmental clearance”.
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