Cabinet approved a policy for use of land acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957
Recently the Union Cabinet approved the policy for the use of land acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957.
Coal Bearing Areas: CBA: Provision has been made in the Act for acquisition of Coal Bearing Areas, free from any encumbrance. After acquisition, the ownership of the land will continue to be owned by the government company.
This policy provides a framework for the use of such land under the following conditions:
- This land is no longer suitable for coal mining activities, or is not economically viable.
- Coal has been mined out of such land, or has been de-coalised, and such land has been reclaimed.
Benefits of this policy:
- Land areas of public sector companies like Coal India Limited (CIL) can also be leased out to private entities through joint ventures for infrastructure development.
- This will help CIL cut its operating cost.
- Coal gasification projects will also become practical, as there will be no need to transport coal to distant places.
- The project will help in rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families.
In another related headlines, the Ministry of Coal is in discussions with the World Bank for cooperation on the ‘Mine Closure Framework’.
The rehabilitation process is a continuous program within the mine closure plan. Under this, the reduction in physical, chemical and biological quality by mining operations is removed. This shortcoming has to be removed to the same level which is acceptable. Guidelines for closure of mines were issued in the year 2009 and in the year 2013.
Source – The Hindu
