Coal project developers will now have to clearly specify the reasons for closure of mining operations in relation to exhaustion of mineral, lack of demand, uneconomic operations, natural calamity, directives from statutory organisation or court. As per the guidelines issued by the coal ministry, inflation rate and NPV rate will be taken into account for deriving the total abandonment cost and the amount to be deposited every month by the mine owner for the same.
The existing infrastructural facilities available such as roads, aerial ropeways, conveyer belts, railways, power lines, buildings & structures, water treatment plant, transport, water supply sources in the area and their future utilisation should be evaluated on case to case basis.
If retained, the measures to be taken for their physical stability and maintenance should be described.
If decommissioning proposed, dismantling and disposal of building structures, support facilities and other infrastructure like electric transmission line, water line, gas pipeline, water works, sewer line, telephone cables, underground tanks, transportation infrastructure like roads, rails, bridges, culverts, electrical equipments and infrastructures like electric cables, transformers to be described in connection with restoring land for further use.
Informed sources told FE that the coal project developers will be entitled for financial assistance for closure of mines. However, the ministry has made it clear that mine owners for the projects other than Coal India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, Neyveli Lignite Corporation and projects of other public sector undertakings will have to open a ?corpus? account with any scheduled bank with the coal controller (on behalf of the central government) as exclusive beneficiary.
The mining company will cause payments to be deposited in such corpus account every month, commencing from the month in which coal extraction from the mine begins.
The amount to be contributed (per tonnage basis) into the corpus account every month by the mine owner will be determined by the competent authority.
No withdrawals from the corpus account will be made or permitted until the implementation of the approved final mine closure scheme commences. The coal controller (on behalf of ministry of coal), by notice in writing to the bank holding the corpus account, may ask such bank not to honour any cheques, hundies and requisitions presented to it by the mining company or any other drawals on the account until after the claims of the ministry of coal for completion of mine closure scheme are first discharged out of the deposited accumulation in the corpus account.