New Delhi: The government is planning to launch a dedicated portal for land acquisition for coal mining, two people aware of the development said, citing a major flashpoint in India’s push towards fossil fuel.
The Ministry of Coal’s portal will digitize records of the land acquisition process, including approvals for acquisitions and disbursement of compensation to displaced persons.
“The land acquisition process will now be completely digitalised with the ‘Coal Land Acquisition and Management Portal, CLAMP’. The aim is to help in submitting land acquisition proposals, processing those applications and approving them online,” said one of the persons mentioned above.
In addition, processing of rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) benefits, which include monetary compensation and resettlement of displaced persons, would also be done through the portal, the person added.
Another person said the process of replacing the human interface with the web portal has been inspired by the Highways Ministry’s ‘BhoomiRashi’ portal, which has helped speed up land acquisition processes for roads and highways.
“The goal is to provide ease and transparency”
“In addition to facilitating processes, the aim is also to bring transparency. There will be full visibility of who the displaced people are in each of the villages and the status of the compensation they have received or will receive,” the second person said.
Land acquisition, displacement and rehabilitation of local populations have been important topics of public discourse over the years.
During the 2018-22 fiscal year, government-owned Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries acquired 82,122 hectares of land, according to data released by the Coal Ministry in April last year.
The move comes at a time when the scope for coal mining is shrinking as the 2070 deadline for India to phase out fossil fuels approaches. Meanwhile, the government has also stepped up efforts to boost production and increase compensation to displaced people.
The centralized portal is also significant because mining has been opened to private players since 2020, a move expected to boost the country’s coal production. In June this year, the ministry released a revised draft of guidelines for coal mining, which spoke of a “just transition” that would include support for affected workers, community development initiatives, environmental remediation and policy reforms.
Greater flexibility is proposed for making minor modifications to mining plans, with only major changes requiring approval. The ministry has also proposed a provision to make the timing of plans more flexible to accommodate increased annual coal production beyond scheduled targets; drone surveys; and processed results for the production of comprehensive five-year mine planning compliance reports.
On Friday, the Ministry also reviewed the status of the development of the National Coal Mine Safety Reporting Portal. The portal will enable “near real-time reporting” and efficient management of accidents, ensuring a quick response.
Questions sent to the Ministry of Coal remained unanswered by the time this edition went to press.
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