Now Reading: Parliament panel wants modern washeries to boost quality coal
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Parliament panel wants modern washeries to boost quality coal
The parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel has flagged high-ash content in domestically produced coal as a major challenge. In its latest report, the panel called for priority to coal…
The Story in Brief
The parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel has flagged high-ash content in domestically produced coal as a major challenge. In its latest report, the panel called for priority to coal beneficiation and modernisation of washery infrastructure. The Hindu reports that many of Coal India's washeries have outlived their designed life and use legacy technology.
Coal India currently produces only 3.59 million tonnes of washed coking coal against a capacity of 18.35 million tonnes per annum. The committee urged timely modernisation of ageing washeries, removal of logistical constraints, and setting up washeries at or near pitheads. It noted that pithead beneficiation improves transport efficiency, lowers emissions, and enhances coal economics. India's reliance on imported coking coal stems partly from this domestic quality gap.
The Indian Opinion
This report cuts through lazy talk of 'India's coal import dependence' without fixing root causes. The real story is decades of underinvestment in washery tech and pithead logistics. Blaming imported coal alone ignores that domestic high-ash coal cannot feed steel mills without washing. The test now: will Coal India actually shut and replace its 18-year-old washeries, or will this join the pile of unimplemented committee suggestions? A simple follow-up: next year's washed-coking-coal output figure will tell us if anything changed.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
