Coal India Ltd is likely to increase its Rs 18,000-crore capital expenditure plan by Rs 4,000-5,000 crore to factor in a better rehabilitation package for project-affected people that seeks community consensus.
CIL aims to open 125 mines across the country during the 11th and the 12th Five-Year Plans, for which it will have to acquire 67,000 acres by the end of the 11th Plan, 2011-12.
CIL chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya told FE that the coal major?s existing rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R) policy for project-affected people had to be improved substantially in the current socio-political situation regarding land acquisition. ?CIL has formulated a fresh R&R policy, much more broad-based and open to modification, and implementing it will cost more to the company,? Bhattacharyya said.
He said 75% of the Rs 18,000-crore capex plan has been spent on procuring equipment and the rest to acquire land and for the R&R side.
?Now, with a revised R&R policy that aims at working out a community consensus, the cost of rehabilitating will just double,? Bhattacharyya said.
Officials said that the revised R&R policy will offer one job for every two acres acquired, subject to availability.
Those who do not want jobs will be given cash of Rs 2 lakh for the first acre acquired, Rs 1.5 lakh for the second and third acres, and Rs 1 lakh for the fourth acre onwards. Affected people would be given a shifting allowance and those who lose their homes or homestead would get a ready-built 150sq m hour apart from the land cost and shifting compensation.
Those who do not own the land being acquired but depend on it for their livelihood would get minimum agricultural wages for 750 days.
Bhattacharyya said the revised policy takes the inclusive approach, in line with the Government of India?s new R&R guidelines.
As the new projects become operational, CIL and its producing subsidiaries plan to take total production up to 520.05 million tonne by the end of the 11th Plan from 379.49 million tonne now, and up to 664 million tonne by the end of the 12th Plan.
Of the production target in the 11th Plan, 186 million tonne is expected to come from existing mines, 165 million tonne from projects under way and 169m tonne from the new projects.
Likewise, during the 12th Plan, 151m tonne is expected from existing mines, 182 million tonne from projects under way and 321m tonne from new projects. Around 27 projects are currently being developed, officials said. The new projects are mostly underground mines, with CIL bent on raising the share of underground production from 43 million tonne now to 75 million tonne within the next two to three years.