Coal sector to be major contributor to $5-trillion economy goal, says Amit Shah

Coal sector to be major contributor to $5-trillion economy goal, says Amit Shah

CONTEXT:

Launching the single window clearance portal for starting coal mines in the country, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the coal sector would be a major contributor towards the goal of a $5-trillion economy.

NEWS IN DETAILS:

The operationalisation of the coal blocks allocated to the 19 bidders would bring states

Annual revenues of Rs 6,500 crore and
Create more than 70,000 jobs.

The pandemic may slow down our speed in realising the dream of becoming a $5-trillion economy but we will certainly achieve it.

Clearances via Portal: Clearances are set to be granted via the portal which is already capable of providing approval for mining plans on launch, according to a government release.

Environment and forest clearances,
Wild life clearance,
Clearances related to safety, and
Rehabilitation of project-affected families

Coal Sector in India: Norms liberalised for entry and regulations relaxed | IASbaba

WHY NEEDED:

In the absence of unified platform: In the absence of unified platform for grant of clearances, companies were required

To approach different departments,
Leading to delay in operationalisation of the coal mines.

ADVANTAGE OF SINGLE WINDOW CLEARANCE:

Transparency and ease of doing business: Reforms under the Narendra Modi government had brought transparency and ease of doing business to the coal sector.

It was earlier thought to be contributing less that one-third of its total potential to the country’s economy.

Commercial mining: The launch also included the signing of agreements with 19 successful bidders during the first ever auction of coal blocks for commercial mining, which had concluded in November.

SINGLE WINDOW CLEARANCE PORTAL FOR STARTING COAL MINES:

A single window clearance portal is aimed at allowing successful bidders for coal blocks to be able to obtain all required clearances, including environmental and forest clearances, from a single portal with progress monitoring, instead of having to go to multiple authorities.
The portal should allow successful bidders to operationalise coal mines more quickly.

Advantage:

Coal sector has long sought a single window clearance system to help with quicker operationalisation.
Earlier obtaining the requisite clearances was taking over 2-3 years for successful bidders in many cases.
The expert added that some coal blocks auctioned as far back as 2015 has still not been operationalised due to delays in obtaining required clearances.
The expert noted that the Parivesh mechanism for forest and environment related clearances would likely be merged into the single window clearance mechanism.