New Delhi: Being aware of the benefits of drone use, the Coal Ministry is contemplating to rope in startup companies for wider use of drone technology in the mining sector. A senior government official told ETV Bharat that the Coal ministry has already approached startups across India who are in this business of drones.
"The Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) has been conducting an assessment study for an extensive use of drone technology in the mining and operational areas," the official said.
A subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), CMPDI is a central government enterprise that works with new generation exploration technology coupled with skilled manpower. Using drone remote operation technology for a few OC topographical surveys, forest boundary demarcation, land acquisition, and contouring, produce accurate maps on a trial basis.
The ministry has been giving much more emphasis on the use of drones following the fact that fatal incidents keep happening in the mining sector. The total number of fatal accidents and fatalities reported in coal and lignite mines during 2021 were 27 and 29 respectively while 57 serious accidents and 61 serious injuries were reported during 2021.
The official said that to avoid or minimize such incidents, the Coal Ministry has adopted several technologies like remote operation technology, early warning racer system, and dust suppression system among others.
Recently, the CMPDI awarded a work for drone UAV-based survey for the generation of DTMs of sand mining lease areas in various districts of Uttar Pradesh to a private drone company at a cost of more than Rs 2.5 crore.
The government official further informed that the Ministry of Finance has approved continuation of the scheme of "conservation, safety and infrastructural development in coal mines" for the years 2021-22 to 2025-27 with an outlay of Rs 465.22 crore.
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This, however, includes the provision of Rs 362.72 crore for the same period for the sub-scheme of the Development of Transportation Infrastructure in coalfields areas. Significantly, the Coal Ministry has set new targets for all three government PSUs including CIL, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), and NLC India Limited (NLCIL).
CIL has produced 622.64 million tonnes (MT) of raw coal during 2021-22 which is an all-time high for the company and 4.4 percent more than the same period of the previous year's production. The CIL has been given a new target of producing 700 MT coal during 2022-23.
Similarly, SCCL has produced 65.02 (MT) of raw coal during 2021-22 which is 28.6 percent more than the same period of the previous year's production. The coal production target for SCCL in 2022-23 is 70 MT.
The NLCIL has produced 251.13 lakh tonne (LT) lignite and 63.58 LT coal during 2021-22 which are about 30 percent and 538 percent more than the same period of the previous year's production. The lignite and coal production targets of NLCIL in 2022-23 are 263.50 and 80 LT.
